Can I get my money back from a bank transfer scam?
Bank transfer scams, or Authorised Push Payment frauds as they are known within the industry, have become more and more common. In 2020, UK Finance reported that £479 million was lost in the UK to these scams in that year alone. If you’ve lost money to a U.K wire transfer scam, Refundee may be able to help get your money back from your bank.
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What is a bank transfer scam?
This type of scam occurs when you send funds from your own account to one belonging to a scammer. They can take a variety of forms, by the most common types of fraud where you are persuaded to transfer funds include:
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![Romance Scams]()
Romance Scams
Where you send it to someone who has tricked you into a relationship.
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![Investment Scams]()
Investment Scams
Where you send it thinking it is for a legitimate investment. This can be anything such as property, crypto, forex or stocks and shares.
In 2021, there has been a huge growth in situations where the scammers convince you to send funds to cryptocurrency, or where they pretend to be from your institution's fraud team and warn that you need to move your funds to a safe account.
If you’ve been tricked into transferring funds to the account of someone you don’t know, you might be able to get your money back from your bank.
RETRIEVE FUNDS
Can I get my money back from a Bank Transfer?
For some victims, from May 2019 the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code will apply. This is a voluntary code on Authorised Push Payment scams that provides protections for customers of signatory firms. It delivers a commitment from all signatory firms to reimburse victims of authorised push payment fraud as long as the customer has met the standards expected of them under the code. Put simply, it sets out how firms should approach the prevention of scam payments and when they should refund victims.
There are a collection of exclusions that apply to the Code, and firms have been heavily criticised by groups such as Which? for inconsistent application of the rules. 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. Before making a claim, it is vital that you read the Code and make the arguments that you think are relevant to your case.
From the 7th October 2024, this code has been replaced by new regulation called the Mandatory Reimbursement. Unlike the CRM, this is not a voluntary code, and is mandatory for all payment providers in the UK. Whilst it is similar to the CRM, it should offer higher protections to customers are banks are expected to do more the protect their customers. However, unlike the CRM, there is a cap for reimbursement set at £85,000 per sending bank.
BANK REFUND
I didn’t pay by bank transfer,
can I still get my money back from my bank?
More info:
Debit Card
If you paid by debit card, you may be able to get your money back from your bank by doing a chargeback. A chargeback is a transaction reversal completed where you dispute a card transaction and the aim is for it to refund the purchase you made.
It can be particularly useful in situations where you paid for goods and services that were never received. If you fell victim to a purchase scam for example, you purchased an item and it didn't arrive, you can ask your card provider to try to get the money back from the organisation.
A chargeback works by the firm withdrawing funds that were previously deposited into the recipient’s account and putting them back into your account. They may dispute a chargeback with the firm if they can prove the chargeback is invalid.
Credit Card
If you have paid via credit card for goods or service, and the payment was over £100, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act applies. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, the credit card company is jointly and severally liable for any breach of contract or misrepresentation by the retailer or trader. If you lost funds to a scam and paid via credit card, you can contact your bank to try to reclaim the money you lost, or contact Refundee. These cases are usually more straightforward so we’d recommend that you contact your institution yourself rather than paying fees to a company to do this for you.
There is some useful information on the Citizens Advice website if you want to learn more about your options to get money back from your bank when you’ve been a victim of fraud.