Authorised Push Payments (APP) Fraud

Authorised Push Payments (APP) Fraud

APP fraud is where someone tricks you into transferring money to them. They may pose as a legitimate service provider, reputable business or even your family and friends and ask you to send money to an account that they control.
They will want you to do it in a hurry so you don’t have time to think, and they may ask you to lie to your bank about any withdrawals or transfers. Alternatively, they might pose as your bank or even the police and any messages can be made to look like they come from a genuine email address or phone number.
Fraudsters may also try to convince you they are a genuine well-known business contacting you about a legal or fraud issue. They are likely to ask you to lie to your bank or building society about any withdrawals. A genuine business would never ask you to do this.

Examples of an Authorised Push Payment could include:

• Someone posing as a member of a fraud investigation team for a bank, building society or the police, asks you to transfer money to a “safe” account.
• Someone posing as an agent of HMRC says that you are going to be prosecuted if you don’t make an overdue payment.
• Someone posing as a builder who asks you for a large cash transfer to buy supplies.
• Someone impersonating a family member or friend who asks you to transfer money into a bank account you didn’t open or that you don’t control personally.

How to protect yourself

• If someone asks you to make a payment, don’t automatically presume it’s genuine.
• Don’t give away any of your security details. 
• If you’re unsure about making the payment, delay it until you’ve checked with your bank or Building Society.
• Never send money to an account you didn’t open yourself and that you don’t personally have control of. 
• When you make a payment from your Society account, we will always ask for this payment to be sent to a nominated bank account in your own name.
• Don’t send any money to someone who has asked you to lie to your bank or building society.

What to do if you've been scammed

If something doesn’t feel right or you’re worried about a transaction, the best thing to do is act quickly. The first steps to follow are:

1. Stop the payment. Contact your bank or building society so they can try and stop the payment.
2. Contact us immediately if you think you’ve been the victim of an APP scam. You can do this by popping into your local branch, calling us on 01257 235000, or emailing reportscam@chorleybs.co.uk
3. Our Financial Crime team will then begin to investigate what’s happened and look into reimbursing you for your loss. They may ask for further information, such as documents, messages or screenshots or suggest the police should be involved.
4. We’ll assess every APP scam claim on a case-by-case basis, looking at the evidence you present along with any information we have.
5. We will keep you updated on timescales as the investigation progresses.
6. Report it. Phone the Police Action Fraud line on 0300 123 2040, they’ll give you a reference number.

From 7 October, new reimbursement rights come into force.

New reimbursement rights for Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud for certain payments made using Faster Payment Systems (FPS) and/or Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS) come into force from 7 October 2024.
Please note, any claims made after this date must be done so within 13 months of the final payment to a fraudster as part of a scam, to be eligible under the reimbursement rules.

What are your new reimbursement rights?

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) have introduced a new requirement which supports people affected by APP fraud.
Under the new regulations, if you have been targeted by APP fraud, you may be entitled to the following:

• Reimbursement within 5 days, subject to a successful investigation, if further information is needed, this can take up to 35 days.
• A maximum claim amount of £85,000 for each payment (we may deduct an excess of up to a £100 from your reimbursement).
• Any payment service providers involved will share the cost of reimbursement claims equally.
• The right to complain, should you be unhappy with our final decision.

When do the reimbursement rights not apply?

We treat every case seriously and we’ll review them individually. However, there are some key reasons where you may not be reimbursed:

• If the claim you make is not true.
• You have acted with a significant lack of care on your part, such as, ignoring warnings by us, other payment service providers or law enforcement, or failing to report the scam right away.
• If you're making a claim for something that happened before 7 October 2024 and if it has been over 13 months since you've made the last payment to the wrong person.
• If the account is for a business which has 10 or more employees and / or an annual turnover or balance sheet that is over €2m
• When you send a faster payment to an account which you have control of.
• There is a civil dispute over the payment.
• The payment was sent/received by a credit union, municipal bank, or a national savings bank account.
• You have not authorised the payment.
• For cash, cheques or international payments.
• You have not met the consumer standard of caution.

What is the consumer standard of caution?

The consumer standard of caution is a set of steps you must follow before and after you make a payment. If it’s found during an APP scam investigation that you haven’t followed these steps, it could mean your claim is unsuccessful. 

Meeting the consumer standard of caution means that:

• You must follow our advice to check that your payment is genuine and any of our warnings if we let you know that we suspect the payment you’re making is or could be fraud. You also need to follow any instructions from the police or the National Crime Agency.
• You must report the fraud as soon as possible and within the APP scam time limit.
• You should provide additional information we may ask for about your claim.
• We might ask you to report details of the scam to the police or do this for you. You must consent to this where possible and reasonable.

What happens if you're not satisfied with our decision?

If you're not satisfied with our decision, let us know so we can try to put things right. You can contact us to make a complaint in writing, by email to complaints@chorleybs.co.uk or by calling 01257 235000.

You can find out details of what happens next and how we will deal with your complaint on our website complaints procedure page.

If we do not resolve your complaint internally to your satisfaction and you are eligible, you may be able to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Details about their service and how to refer a complaint to them can be found on their website at financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

Take Five to Stop Fraud

Fraudsters are clever. They’re always developing new and sophisticated ways to try and catch you out and get their hands on your money and your personal information. 
 
Stop: taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.
 
Challenge: could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
 
Protect: contact us immediately if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud. 0300 123 2040 (Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm). If you're calling from abroad: +44 300 123 2040.

Find out more on the Take Five to Stop Fraud website.

For more details on APP fraud and reimbursement, they have a useful guide:

APP Reimbursement Consumer Guide