What is an Authorised Push Payment scam?

Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams are on the rise. From cryptocurrency investment scams, to ‘safe account’ scams, fraudsters are targeting UK banking customers attempting to trick them into push payment scams. At Refundee, we specialise in helping victims of push payment scams get their money back from their bank. 

An Authorised Push Payment is where a customer sends money from their bank account themselves to another bank account. It can include bank transfers made between customers’ own bank accounts or to a new payee, and can be made online, through mobile banking, telephone banking or in person in a branch. An APP scam, therefore, is any scam where a customer is tricked into sending money from their bank account to one controlled by the scammer. UK Finance data showed that in the first half of 2021, UK victims lost £355.3 million pounds to this type of fraud, a new record. Banks did not refund most of the money fraud victims lost, and Refundee is taking a stand and fighting for refunds for those who have approached us. To start our claim fill in our scam refund claim form.

How does an APP scam work?

APP scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complicated. This can make it difficult for members of the public to spot and prevent before they happen. The aim of the scammer is to trick you into sending money from your bank account, and they have a number of common approaches they take.

‘Safe account’ scams

The fraudster pretends to be your bank and using information they have gained online or through a phishing data breach, they trick you into thinking your account is under attack. The only way to protect your account, they say, is to send the money to a new account they have set up for you that the scammers dont know about. It can be incredibly convincing, the scammers can sometimes ‘spoof’ the bank's number so the call appears to you to be from the bank. Sometimes, they trick you into reading out a code the bank sends you via SMS, and they then use this code to send money from your account.

Investment scams

Scammers running investment frauds pretend to be legitimate firms, and use convincing websites and trading accounts that appear to be real. You will see prices moving, and any deposits that you make in the account. They might also talk you through how everything works by taking control of your device using third party remote access software. Combined with their knowledge of the markets, they appear to an ordinary person to be professional and knowledgeable. This all makes for a very convincing APP fraud, but once you have sent the money from your bank account, the trading account shows ‘fake’ deposits. The scammer instead has run away with the money. Refundee can help investment scam victims get their money back.

Invoice scams

By pretending to be your lawyer in a house purchase, or a business you are expecting to receive an invoice from, invoice scammers pretend to be someone you are expecting to pay and put their own bank account details on invoices. You send the money to them thinking they are the legitimate person or company, and then later find out the money went to a scammer. These can be very difficult to spot, as it could be something as small as one character out of place on an email address.

Romance scams

A romance scammer will build up trust by developing a convincing relationship with you, usually online. You may meet them on a dating site or on social media where they’ll be lurking behind an apparently genuine profile. Romance scammers look to build relationships with potential victims online, and once the trust is built they start asking for money. This can be for things like flights, customs duties or lawyers fees. Sometimes romance scammers trick their victim into a great investment they've been doing that has helped them make a lot of money. They might try and convince the victim that they will make enough money for them to build a life together. They are incredibly ruthless, and their aim is always to get you to send money from your bank account.

Authorised Push Payment Scams Voluntary Code

For some victims, from May 2019 to October 2024 the Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM) Code applied. This is a voluntary code on push payment scams that provides protections for customers where their bank has signed the code. The CRM delivers a commitment from all signatory firms to reimburse victims of APP fraud as long as the customer has met the standards expected of them under the code. Simply, it sets out when banks should refund victims of APP fraud.

There are exclusions that apply to the Code, and firms have been heavily criticised by groups such as Which? Due to the way they have applied the rules and these exclusions. Whether you get a refund or not can be a lottery that depends on who you have an account with, how they interpret the Code and how they interpret the facts of your case as you have presented them. Refundee can help victims where their bank has signed the code, but can also help those where this is not the case. Refundee can help present arguments to help you get money lost to fraud from your bank.

This has since been replaced with the PSR’s Mandatory Reimbursement regulation. This is now covers all payment providers (all 900+ of them in the UK). This requires banks to refund victims in more cases than the CRM, however, unlike the CRM, there is a cap of £85,000 per sending bank.

Can a bank transfer be refunded?

If you’ve lost money to a push payment scam, Refundee can manage your case for you, as an FCA regulated claims management company. If you’d like us to do this for you, start the process by filling out our scam refund claim form. Our fees are fair, industry-lowest, and straightforward. We only charge a fee if we’re successful, and there are no hidden or upfront costs. Our fee is between 15% and 25% plus VAT depending on how much money you get back, and we don't charge anything if we are not successful. To see your potential fee, use the fee estimate calculator on our fees page and review the fee banding and example illustrations.

Remember you don’t need to use a company like Refundee, you could work your case yourself for free! If you’d like to get a refund yourself, you can do this by following our bank transfer refund guide.