Bank was slow in recovery efforts but not at fault for scam loss

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Bank was slow in recovery efforts but not at fault for scam loss

Categories:

Common scams targeting bank customers,

Summary:

Geordie lost $30,000 in an investment scam. He authorised the transaction using his internet banking credentials and a code sent to his mobile phone. Two days later, Geordie rang the bank asking it to put the payment on hold. The bank said the payment had already gone through. It did not offer to take any steps to try to recover the funds. Geordie made a complaint a month later, at which time the bank tried – unsuccessfully – to recover the funds.

Published:

February 2022

Our investigation

We found the bank should have offered to try to recover the money when Geordie rang two days after making the transaction. However, the information we reviewed suggested it was very unlikely, even at this point, that the bank would have been successful in recovering the funds. Geordie did not, therefore, suffer any loss as a result of the bank’s actions or inaction.

Outcome

We did not uphold Geordie’s complaint.

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