AUTHORISED PUSH PAYMENT FRAUD CLAIMS

Authorised Push Payment fraud (APP) is a type of fraud in which victims are tricked into sending money to scammers. These may be linked to romance scams, in which the victim is duped into paying money for relationships that do not exist, and investment scams, in which the victim is duped into sending money for investments that do not exist.

Scammers often gain the victim’s confidence or appear to be someone they trust, such as a lawyer, accountant, friend, family member, or romantic connection then use manipulative techniques and deception to persuade the victim to send sums of money often on an urgent and/or regular basis from their bank account.

As the fraud victim believes the transfer is genuine and legitimate, the money is often lost before any alarm bells ring and the victim may be too embarrassed to do anything about it. These payments are then usually moved abroad, often making it impossible to trace or recover what has been lost.

Authorised Push Payments can include a range of different scams but ultimately involves you being tricked into sending money by bank transfer to a third party. These can include for instance:

• Cryptocurrency Scams. Cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, are being increasingly used in transactions across the world. Scammers have used promises of financial quick wins to persuade would be investors to transfer money to build their cryptocurrency portfolios. Once the money has been sent, and the victim realizes they have been scammed, there is little chance of getting the money back from scammers.
• Impersonation Scams (e.g., emails/ texts/ calls from an individual posing to be from HMRC or the postal service). These would involve messages purportedly from well-known institutions or companies demanding payment be sent to a particular bank account. The messages can sometimes be quite demanding and threatening (such as a message from HMRC informing you that HMRC may take enforcement action against you should you not pay immediately). The messages are however from fraudsters and once the money has been sent there is little chance of recovery.
• Online romance scams. Romance scams often involve meeting through online dating apps and then using manipulation to build a romantic relationship and trust with the victim. This then develops into requests for money by bank transfer or cheques. It is often too late to do anything once the money has been transferred and the victim realizes that they have been defrauded.
• Family scams (people posing as family members). This is where scammers text, WhatsApp messages or email parents pretending to be their children and ask for emergency payments using stories such as they have lost their phone, or an urgent rent payment needs to be made.
• Invoicing Scams. Authorised Push Payments can affect businesses as well as individuals. Scammers can pretend to be tradespeople or business suppliers and send fake invoices online. Again, once the payment has been made, it is often too late to get the money back.
• Trusted Advisor/ Brand Impersonation Scams. Cybercriminals can use sophisticated techniques to deceive their victims into thinking they are their trusted advisors such as a solicitor or accountant, then persuade them to make payments such as an invoice or payment on account. Similarly, scammers can pretend that they are from the police, local authority, tax office, banks or big brands such as DHL or Amazon, deceiving people into handing over confidential bank details and/or making payments.

It is extremely important to advise the police and your bank. You can also report any suspected scamming activity to Action Fraud, the National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre.

Your bank is under an obligation to protect you from these sorts of scams. If you have lost money because of an Authorised Push Payment, we can help you recover the funds from your bank. If your bank fails to uphold your complaint, we can then escalate the matter.