Published: 11 February 2021 Closes: 8 April 2021
APP scams can cause significant harm to consumers. This work continues to be a key priority for the PSR, both in terms of prevention and getting the right outcomes for victims.
Why we are publishing this document
APP scams, when fraudsters trick people into transferring money to them by posing as a legitimate payee or constructing fraudulent reasons for a payment, are a significant and growing problem.
The scammers are clever, organised criminals and people have lost life-changing sums of money. In the first half of 2020, losses due to APP scams totalled £208 million (although this is likely to be an underestimate, due to under reporting of APP scams).
Our aim is to significantly reduce APP scam losses incurred by payment system users, through improved prevention and reimbursement.
What this document contains
This publication contains three measures that we believe could help to reduce APP scam losses.
We are inviting all interested parties to provide feedback on these measures, namely:
- Making sure everyone can see how banks and building societies handle APP scams, by requiring them to publish their APP scam data, including reimbursement and repatriation levels.
- Making it harder for fraudsters, by requiring banks and building societies to adopt a standardised approach to sharing data which will help identify these scams to stop them from happening in the first place.
- Extending customer protection across all banks and building societies at a minimum standard by changing payment system rules.
We welcome feedback on these measures, including any evidence or information on their viability, effectiveness, proportionality, or how they should be developed.
Who should read this document
This document is mainly relevant to the payments industry, consumer groups and PSPs, particularly those already involved in our work on APP scams.
What happens next
Our call for views will remain open for eight weeks, and we will then consider all the responses we receive to help shape our response and next steps.
The call for views is open until 5pm on 8 April 2021. You can email your comments to appscams.callforviews@psr.org.uk or write to us at:
APP scams team
Payment Systems Regulator
12 Endeavour Square
London
E20 1JN
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