A more joined-up approach is needed across the banking industry and other sectors to “break the spell” of scammers, according to Santander UK.
It said all banks and payment service providers should follow a specific set of rules to help prevent frauds where people are tricked into transferring cash to criminals.
This would include more consistent data sharing and the mandatory use of confirmation of payee – a fraud prevention system which lets customers know whether the name of the person they think they are paying matches the bank account number they are paying money to.
Comparing the issue to how Chip and Pin added a widespread layer of security to card payments, Santander said that a similar movement is needed to stop authorised push payment (APP) fraud.
It suggested consideration should also be given to whether some higher-value or higher-risk payments require additional checks – which “could give potential victims the chance to ‘break the spell’ of scammers”.
The bank said the Online Safety Bill should be brought forward, and more consideration should be given to how fraudsters are reaching their victims in the first place. Many scams originate online.
Santander said that according to its data more than 70% of purchase scams originate on social media.
In one case highlighted by the bank, a 61-year-old woman was persuaded to make several payments to someone she thought she had made friends with while playing an online game.
In total, she transferred over…
