Staying Safe from Authorised Push Payment (APP) Fraud

Each year, around 200,000 people fall victim to authorised push payment (APP) fraud. From 7th October 2024, new regulation governing mandatory reimbursement of money lost through APP fraud came into force to help keep your money safe.

What is authorised push payment (APP) fraud?

Authorised push payment (APP) fraud happens when you are tricked into sending money, via a bank payment, to a fraudster’s account. Payment is often requested and processed via online banking or a mobile app, or by telephone. However, fraudsters may also ask you to make in-branch payments.

Common types of APP fraud include:

purchase scams, where criminals advertise goods or services that do not exist (typically via social media);
impersonation fraud, where criminals claim to represent the bank or another trusted organisation such as the police or HMRC;
romance fraud, where criminals create a fake dating profile to abuse your trust and ask for money; and
invoice fraud, where criminals send false invoices.

If you believe you have been affected by APP fraud, even if you are not sure, please tell the bank immediately.

What do the new mandatory reimbursement rules mean?

You are entitled to reimbursement of up to £85,000 lost through APP fraud if:

payment is made from a personal account, by a small charity, or by certain small businesses;
payment is made to an account registered in the UK; and
payment is made via Faster Payments or CHAPS.

You are not entitled to reimbursement if:

payment was not made from a personal account, by a small charity, or by certain small businesses;
payment was made to an account registered outside the UK, via Faster Payments or CHAPS;
payment was made to another account that you control;
payment was made to a credit union, municipal bank or national savings bank;
you misrepresented your circumstances for financial gain;
the payment made is part of a civil dispute;
the payment made is unlawful; or
you did not take the necessary steps to meet the Consumer Standard of Caution.

What is the Consumer Standard of Caution?

The Consumer Standard of Caution is a set of requirements all consumers are required to meet when making payments. The bank is not required to reimburse money lost through APP fraud if you have shown a significant degree of carelessness (known as ‘gross negligence’) when making a payment. To meet the Consumer Standard of Caution, please ensure you adhere to the following rules:

You must act on all warnings from the bank (e.g. an alert that the payment you are making is, or may be, fraudulent). You also need to follow any instructions received from the police or the National Crime Agency.
You must report the fraud as soon as you can, and no more than 13 months after the last fraudulent payment was made.
The bank may ask you for additional information about your claim, including messages or screenshots. You need to make sure you respond to these requests.
Once you have made a claim, the bank may ask you to report the details of the fraud to the police, or we may offer to do this on your behalf. Where this is possible and reasonable, you should agree to these steps being taken.

How do the new rules affect Vulnerable Customers?

If your personal circumstances affect your ability to spot a scam or protect yourself, you can still be reimbursed, even if you did not take all the steps required under the Consumer Standard of Caution, and no excess will be applied to your reimbursement.

How long will it take to be reimbursed for money lost through APP fraud?

Every claim will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. As part of the process, the bank will consider the evidence presented by you, any service providers involved, and any third party such as the police.
If your claim is valid, you should in most cases be reimbursed within five business days of making a claim.
In some cases, it can take up to 35 business days to be reimbursed. This is when we need extra time to gather information from you, the bank that received the payment, or a statutory body such as the Financial Conduct Authority.
An excess of up to £100 may be deducted from any money that is reimbursed.

How to protect yourself from APP fraud

Criminals are expert at impersonation. They carefully research the personal circumstances of their victims and can be extremely persuasive.

Before making any payment, follow the advice from Take Five to Stop Fraud:

Stop and think before parting with your money or personal information. It could keep you safe.
Ask yourself, could it be fake? It’s OK to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
Do your research and be suspicious of any too-good-to-be-true offers or prices.
Remember, the bank or the police will never ask you to transfer money to a safe account.

When you are making a payment:

Always follow any advice or warnings from the bank or another payment service provider.
We may ask you extra questions about the payment. This is to help keep you safe. Always provide the full facts of the case when asked. If someone is asking you to lie, or telling you what to say to the bank, it is very likely to be a scam.
We may also carry out extra checks to keep your money safe. Please be patient if it takes slightly longer than usual to complete a payment.

Where to go for support

The bank should be your first point of contact. You should also report fraud to Action Fraud, the national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre for the police. You can contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at http://www.actionfraud.police.uk. If you are in Scotland, please report it to Police Scotland directly by calling 101.

If you have a complaint about the bank, please contact us directly. If we cannot deal with your complaint the day after it is received, we will contact you to let you know we are looking into it and report on our progress.

If you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint, you can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) which is independent and impartial. They will review your complaint by weighing up all the facts. This is a free service. For further information please visit www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

If you have been a victim of a scam and are finding it hard to recover from the experience, you can find further support at:

Citizen’s Advice Consumer Service (www.citizensadvice.org.uk)
Age UK (ageuk.org.uk)
Victim Support (www.victimsupport.org.uk)

If you have any questions about APP regulation, or if you would like personal advice, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our Fraud team at customerfraudsupport@hoaresbank.co.uk.

Remember, the sooner you tell us about suspected fraud on your account, the better chance we have of recovering your money. If you believe, or suspect, that you have been scammed, please call the bank immediately on 020 7353 4522. Day or night, someone will be on hand to help.