Watchdog: Banks Leave Con Victims At Risk Of Fresh Scams

Fraud victims are failing to receive adequate support from banks – and that may leave them exposed to more scams, watchdogs said today.

- Steph Spyro

Staff at Which? found some customers struggled to contact banks after a scam. One ran up a £50 bill waiting seven hours on the phone.

The consumer group’s survey found 83 per cent of victims of fraud or attempted fraud in the last year were satisfied overall with how their bank had managed the scam.

But Which? said that left a significant number at risk of “slipping through the cracks”.

The Office for National Statistics estimates there were 4.6 million fraud offences in the year to March.

Jenny Ross, Which? Money magazine editor, said: “When banks fail to offer proper support, it can make a nightmare situation even worse.

“An absence of information from firms about how people can protect themselves could even lead to ruthless scammers striking for a second time.”