A new form of payment fraud has emerged, in which the victim is tempted to transfer money to the criminal himself. The bank is not responsible for this and therefore there is no right to compensation.
This is apparent from a binding decision by the Kifid Disputes Committee. In this case, a scammer responded to a Martkplaats advertisement from the victim. Contact was made via WhatsApp. The scammer wanted to buy the items offered and he asked the victim to transfer one cent to him via a payment request. For example, he wanted to ‘verify’ the victim’s payment account.
Through the payment request, the victim ended up on a page where she was asked to enter her login details for internet banking. However, it turned out to be a fake link and the scammer gained access to the victim’s internet banking. He transferred 3,020 euros from the savings account to the victim’s checking account and then reported that he had accidentally transferred 3,020 euros. Whether she could transfer 2,000 euros back to a German account. The victim did this. Moments later, the scammer asked if she could also transfer the remaining amount. At that time, the victim had already discovered that the 3,020 euros came from her own savings account.
Compensation
A victim has no legal right to compensation for this fraud. It is true that the law states that the bank must refund an unauthorized transaction, but that only applies to transactions on payment accounts. This law does not apply to a transfer from a savings account to a checking account. The victim made the payment to the scammer’s bank account himself. Therefore, there cannot be an unauthorized transaction. The damage is fully borne by the victim.
Source: Kifid
