Fraud victim gets surprise £153,000 refund despite rules

A fraud unfortunate has won a £153,000 refund contempt not being automatically entitled to one, aft the BBC's Money Box programme contacted Lloyds bank.

James, successful his 70s, was targeted by a US-based scammer who claimed she was successful an abusive narration and tricked him into making dozens of payments.

Such frauds are often protected by banking rules, but they bash not screen transactions to overseas slope accounts.

Lloyds Bank refunded him aft learning helium was particularly vulnerable.

James was the main carer for his woman who had Parkinson's illness and dementia and subsequently died. As soon the criminals learned astir this they were capable to psychologically manipulate him arsenic portion of a romance scam.

We are not utilizing his surname oregon a representation of him due to the fact that of however susceptible helium is and the hazard helium mightiness beryllium targeted again.

James' lad Adam discovered what was going connected erstwhile his dada had to spell into infirmary past period and his dada asked him to marque 1 of the payments, truthful convinced was James that helium was helping someone

'It was similar being gut punched'

As soon arsenic Adam checked his dad's slope relationship helium realised what had happened and contacted Lloyds.

Adam says helium was initially told by Lloyds that it sounded similar a romance scam which is simply a benignant of authorised propulsion outgo fraud and would astir apt beryllium covered by a voluntary banking code.

Most large banks signed up to the codification which aims to chopped fraud and connection refunds to victims.

The adjacent day, however, Adam says Lloyds told him due to the fact that his dad's scammer had been stealing the wealth utilizing a slope relationship successful America, it wasn't covered by the codification due to the fact that the transactions were made to overseas slope accounts.

"I felt gut punched. I felt sick that each this wealth had gone, that there's nary cover," helium said.

Adam said helium felt the codification should support each customers "irrespective of wherever the transgression resides oregon wherever the wealth has gone."

We started our probe by speaking to experts, getting much details of James' communicative and past contacting Lloyds.

It emerged that, successful this case, Lloyds had done a truly bully occupation of not lone spotting the imaginable fraud but alerting James to it.

The slope blocked a fig of transactions, it spoke to James connected the telephone to pass him and adjacent called him into a subdivision to talk to him face-to-face.

However, the scammer's clasp implicit James was truthful beardown aft being indoctrinated to this expected plight, helium insisted the payments went through.

After our probe began, though, Lloyds carried retired a thorough reappraisal of James' case.

In a connection it said it had a large woody of sympathy for James and his family.

"Sadly successful this case, our lawsuit did not instrumentality due steps to verify that the idiosyncratic helium met online was genuine. We blocked a fig of the transfers and provided warnings astir the hazard of this being a scam, nevertheless helium chose to proceed with the transactions.

"Given the complexity of this lawsuit and his idiosyncratic circumstances astatine that time, we person present provided a afloat refund of the wealth helium mislaid to the fraudsters."

Arun Chauhan, a solicitor who specialises successful fraud and fiscal transgression and is simply a trustee astatine the charity, the Fraud Advisory Panel, says that portion helium recognises the applicable difficulties of securing planetary agreements to screen overseas transactions, banks could bash much - specified arsenic 24 hr clip delays, for example.

"I would similar to spot transportation enactment slowed down by a day. Or there's an automatic trial outgo way that's enactment in, thing wherever the lawsuit doesn't merchandise each the wealth consecutive away," helium said.

"It's not going to halt everything (because) arsenic we cognize erstwhile customers are afloat duped they're afloat duped... but it could prevention a fewer radical and I deliberation that's important.

UK Finance, the commercialized manufacture assemblage for banks and fiscal institutions, said the voluntary slope codification had meant "hundreds of millions of pounds has been reimbursed to thousands of customers".

It said challenges with information sharing and planetary money betterment prevented it covering planetary transactions, but did not forestall reimbursement for specified payments.

"Firms ever look astatine each lawsuit of fraud connected its ain merits," it added.

You tin perceive much connected this communicative connected BBC Radio 4's Money Box podcast disposable soon aft broadcast by clicking here.