Santander calls for more measures to protect customers from fraudsters pretending to be their friends as it emerges 61-year-old woman lost more than £80,000

• Santander has issued warning on scams to its customers as they continue 
• Says banks should follow set of rules to stop people being taken in by scammers
• It is calling for more consistent data sharing and use of payee confirmation
• Comes after new report revealed one customer lost  

Santander has called for more measures to be put in place to crack down on fraudsters pretending to be customers’ friends as it emerged a 61-year-old woman lost more than £80,000. 

As many banks have their own policies and do not use a voluntary code which helps victims targeted by APP scams, in which fraudsters pretend to be their friends, some people have been left out of pocket.

The company said that all banks should follow a set of rules which stop people being taken in by heartless scammers pretending to be their friends and giving them money.

And in a bid to protect customers more, Santander is now calling for more consistent data sharing and the mandatory use of confirmation of payee to help protect customers. 

Santander has also suggested higher-value or higher-risk payments should face more checks and said that the Online Safety Bill should be brought forward.

The company said that all banks should follow a set of rules which stop people being taken in by heartless scammers pretending to be their friends and giving them money (file image)

The bank has also issued a warning to its customers, amid a continued wave of merciless fraudsters targeting people. 

It comes as it was revealed in a report that one woman, aged 61, was duped out of more than £80,000.

She was playing an online game with someone who convinced her to make several payments to them.

When the woman hit hard times financially due to the fraud, the scam was finally uncovered and she was refunded by Santander.

Santander revealed that the woman had been told by the scammer, who was attempting to evade being caught, to lie about the reasons for the payments, according to the Mirror. 

The lender said that more than 70 per cent of purchase scams start on social media.

 As fraudsters continue to prey on people and attempt to take their money, the Payment Systems Regulator has recently proposed that banks reimburse anyone who loses more than £100.

The reimbursement threshold can be lowered further by banks, except if customers are involved in the fraud themselves or have acted with gross negligence.  

There would be an excess of up to £35 charged by the PSPs to process reimbursement claims. 

Starting from the date of payment, there would be a 13-month backstop deadline to resolve claims. 

The bank has also issued a warning to its customers, amid a continued wave of merciless fraudsters targeting people (file image)

Enrique Alvarez, head of everyday banking at Santander UK, said: ‘The sheer scale and value of APP fraud can detract from the real impact of these crimes on individual consumers, who can lose more than just money – their confidence and mental health can also be significantly harmed.

‘Unfortunately, we see this far too often, and it is time for us all to act together. The criminals who perpetrate these scams shouldn’t be getting away with it.’

A statement from the Payment Systems Regulator said: ‘We want people to be better protected if they are targeted by a scammer and have already set out proposals designed to give much greater and consistent levels of protection for victims of APP scams.

‘Financial firms have to act to prevent fraud, and these proposals will also provide strong incentives on banks to do more to detect and prevent APP fraud in the first place.

‘As soon as current legislation is updated, we will implement our rules as quickly as possible.

‘In October, we also directed an additional 400 financial firms to implement the name-checking service, confirmation of payee. This will see more widespread adoption of the protections available to people making payments.’

Report a scam to Action Fraud online or by phone on 0300 123 2040.

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