Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support victims of financial scams.

The Government works closely with industry to close down the vulnerabilities that fraudsters exploit and ensure members of the public have the information they need to spot a scam and stand up to fraudsters. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires banks to maintain effective systems and controls to prevent the risk that they might be used to further financial crime. This includes controls to prevent fraud.

The Government is committed to tackling fraud within payments networks. With regards to Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud, the Government considers rules within Faster Payments as the best solution for ensuring that victims are reimbursed.

The Government recognises the actions taken to-date by the financial services industry to help tackle fraud, including through investment in anti-fraud capabilities, the creation of a voluntary reimbursement Code, and the implementation of initiatives such as Confirmation of Payee. While the Government welcomes these initiatives, it is clear that more needs to be done both to prevent these scams, and to ensure that victims are not left paying for fraud through no fault of their own.

The Government is engaging with the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and industry on what further actions are needed to better protect customers, and welcomed the PSR’s recent consultation on APP scams, which set out various potential measures that could improve scam prevention and outcomes, including proposals to introduce mandatory requirements to reimburse victims. The Government has confirmed it intends to legislate to address any barriers to regulatory action regarding mandatory reimbursement when parliamentary time allows.