Which? response to Treasury Committee Report on Economic Crime

Gareth Shaw, Head of Money at Which?, said:

“It’s been three years since we warned banks were not doing enough to protect their customers, and in that time a lack of swift action from the industry on vital measures like Confirmation of Payee has allowed fraudsters to steal hundreds of millions of pounds – causing untold misery for thousands of victims.

“Most of the major banks have now signed up to the new code for bank transfer scam victims, but the Committee is right in calling for this to be made compulsory, so all customers benefit from greater protections against increasingly sophisticated tactics used by fraudsters.

“The industry must also urgently agree a long-term plan that ensures funds are available to reimburse all blameless victims of these scams, as time is running out to find a solution and prevent a return to the dark days of innocent victims losing their life savings to these criminals.”

Notes to editors:

1. When Which? contacted the UK’s major banks and building societies in August 2019, almost half had still not signed up to the industry code – Millions potentially still vulnerable to devastating bank transfer scams, warns Which?

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