Discover more about authorised push payment scam and how you are protected.
What are Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams?
APP scams happen when you are deceived or persuaded into sending money to an account outside of your control, resulting in you paying someone who is not the intended recipient of the money, or for a different purpose from what you intended. These scams can be sophisticated and convincing, making it crucial to stay informed and vigilant.
Your Protections
Under the New Requirement, if you fall victim to an APP scam and send a scam payment using Faster Payments or CHAPS within the UK, you may be eligible for reimbursement by your bank. The following information is to help you understand how the New Requirement can protect you.
1. Reimbursement Eligibility:
- Customers who are individuals, microenterprises (with fewer than 10 employees and have either an annual turnover or an annual balance sheet total that does not exceed €2 million), or charities (with annual income of less than £1 million) in the UK are protected under the New Requirement.
- Only payments made on or after 7th October, 2024 are reimbursable.
2. Time Limit:
- You must submit their claim to us within 13 months of making the scam payment, or the final payment if there is more than one payment made as part of the same scam.
3. Claims Limit:
- The maximum reimbursement amount for an APP scam claim is £85,000. This limit may change as regulations are updated. Please check with us for the latest information.
- An excess of up to £100 per claim may be applied in accordance with the New Requirement.
4. Exclusions:
The New Requirement does not apply in the following cases:
- Payments sent by cheques, cash, international payments, or payment made across other payment systems
- Payments sent to another account controlled by you
- Payments sent to another account provided by credit unions, municipal banks and national savings banks
- Civil dispute
- If you are party to the fraud
- If you have acted with gross negligence
What You Should Do to Stay Protected
We may not be able to reimburse your loss if you act with gross negligence. The following actions outline the Consumer Standard of Caution we expect you to meet in order to stay protected:
- Pay attention to the anti-fraud warnings and advice provided by us or local authorities such as police. Please be aware that fraudsters may also try to approach you posing as bank staff or police. You should check their identity using trusted contact information such as our customer service hotline.
- Promptly report the scam to us and provide us with sufficient details if you suspect that you have been scammed or tricked into to making a payment from your bank account.
- If you believe you have been scammed, make a report to Action Fraud or your local police as soon as possible.
How the New Requirement Applies to Vulnerable Customers
Where a customer is vulnerable, and the vulnerability has a material impact on their ability to protect themselves from the scam, the Consumer Standard of Caution and excess outlined above do not apply.
How to Make a Claim
If you are a victim of an APP scam and have sent the scam payment from your account with us, please follow these steps:
- Contact our customer service team immediately and a member of our staff will help you to raise a claim.
- We will ask you to provide us with all the details of the scam payment, such as the date and time, amount, account number, sort code, payee’s name, purpose of the payment and the description of how you are being scammed.
- Report the incident to the police /Action fraud.
- We will respond to you within 5 business days of your claim. We will then either inform you of the result or request you to provide further information in relation to your claim.
- If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the claim, you can use our existing complaint process by emailing complaints@hkbea.co.uk , including escalating any disputes to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
How to Stay Safe
- Stop and think before paying someone you do not know in real life. If someone is pushing you to pay immediately, it could be a scam.
- With APP scams, criminals often try to persuade you to take action in a hurry. They make you panic before you have time to think it through properly.
- Discuss with us if you have any fraud/security concerns.
- Report any suspected scams to us immediately.
For any questions or further assistance, please contact our customer service team at +44 (0)20 7734 3434, Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm or email us at info@hkbea.co.uk.