Scam not bank’s fault, but follow-up service faulty

Categories:

Fraud & scams, Bank accounts,

Summary:

In April 2025, Marianne received a WhatsApp message from someone claiming to be her daughter, who said her phone was water-damaged and she needed to borrow money. After receiving an account number under a different name, Marianne transferred $5,300 to the account and sent a confirmation on WhatsApp that she had made the transfer. When Marianne received another request for more money, she tried to contact the number, but it went through to voicemail and she realised she had been scammed. She asked the bank to reimburse her loss, but it refused.

Published:

February 2026

Our investigation

Marianne had logged into her internet banking, set up the payment to someone she did not know and authorised the payment. The transaction did not trigger the bank’s fraud system. There was nothing about the transfer, in our view, that should have alerted the bank to the possibility that the payment might have been part of a scam.

As for the bank’s attempts to recover the money, the scammer had already withdrawn nearly all of the money from the recipient bank by the time Marianne caller her bank. It was able to recover $153. However, there had been a small delay on the bank’s part, and its communication about recovery and investigation progress. The bank offered $500 in recognition of its service and communication failings.