UK APP Scam Survey by Ask Silver (Part 1). Part 2 will be released on 15th November 2024
- YouGov data says new APP scam regulations have gone unnoticed
- Scam-related refunds could still be due to consumers who aren’t aware of regulations
- Ask Silver wants platforms where criminals operate to share liability and responsibility
New data from YouGov for Ask Silver’s annual UK APP Scam Survey indicates that in advance of Fraud Awareness Week (17th-23rd November 2024), increased education and awareness are still needed following the new Authorised Push Payment scam regulations that were introduced in October.
Surveying 2,100 consumers, the first set of results have revealed that despite new changes introduced on 7th October 2024 regarding Authorised Push Payments (payments via apps), Reimbursement Regulation, the vast majority of respondents (64%) had no clue about this change.
The change in regulations now sees UK banks having to refund victims up to the value of £85,000 within five days of being reported. Although all UK financial institutions sent out email communications and/or letters to customers in October to make them aware, from the research, it appears that many have been overlooked.
AI-powered scam checking tool Ask Silver, which can also be accessed via the Get Safe Online website, is bringing the growing threat of sophisticated scams to the fore during International Fraud Awareness Week and beyond because of the risks they pose to people’s finances and mental health.
Case study
Valerie Lown, 66, from Gloucester lost £1k during the build up to Christmas 2022 and despite never disclosing details, scammers were able to discover her password, mother’s maiden name and were even able to override calls to the fraud detection line at her bank. She says: “At the end of my ordeal I didn’t know who to trust, I was taken in by very sophisticated people without even giving away anything. I wouldn’t be without Ask Silver now via WhatsApp because I am still being targeted by strange emails from addresses I don’t recognise.”
Via the bank, Val was able to get her money back but it took months rather than days under the new regulations. Val, however, does feel assured that she has the safety net of Ask Silver and forwards all suspicious correspondence.
Citizens’ Advice Bureau says estimates 4 million people get scammed every year meaning close to 1 in 10 of the adult population are being targeted*.
Fraud is also largely underreported and the CSEW (Crime Survey of England and Wales) estimates only 13% of cases being reported to Action Fraud or the police by victims**. Based on that, refunds for customers who have been legitimately scammed but haven’t reported it aren’t being protected by the new regulation and a refund could be well overdue.
Alex Somervell, co-founder of Ask Silver says: "We've been surprised at how open banks and fraud teams have been to working with us to prevent fraud. Most view regulation as a step in the right direction for the consumer, however there is still a lack of accountability for tech giants in social media and search, and the telcos which is where the vast majority of scams are originating from.
“Our fundamental belief is that the responsibility and liability should also be shared by the platforms where the criminals find and contact victims. Collectively, we need to do more to remove scams from these platforms, as well as educate the public to spot scams as early as possible. The brunt of the responsibility is felt by the banks and financial institutions, but we need ecosystem-wide cooperation and that should include the places where these scams originate.”
Tony Neate, CEO at Get Safe Online comments, "We are not surprised by the results announced today - what is key is that as individuals we remain as vigilant as possible when it comes to being tricked by unscrupulous criminals online. Ask Silver is a fantastic tool, and if you haven't done so already, download it and save it to your WhatsApp contact list today - it will mean you can check any email, text or message to see if it's a scam or not - it's simple to use and will stop scams in their tracks.
Giles Mason, Director of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign at UK Finance said: “Fraud continues to pose a major threat and can cause severe psychological harm to victims alongside the financial impact. Our data shows that most fraud originates online and via telecommunications – despite this, the financial services industry is the only one that reimburses victims. While there have been some improvements made by other sectors, their actions don’t yet fully match the scale of the problem and more needs to be done to stop fraudsters exploiting these platforms and networks.”
Ends/.
Media enquiries:
Jenny Holden | Chorus | jenny@choruscomms.co.uk | 07801 640944
Noted to editors:
YouGov surveyed 2100 consumers between 18th-22nd October 2024 on behalf of Ask Silver, just days after the new APP legislation came into effect. The question asked was: Under new legislation introduced in October 2024, UK banks must refund victims who are scammed into making a bank transfer to a fraudster up to the value of of scams up to £85,000, within five days of being reported.If making a claim, consumers may have to pay an access of up to £100 on the refund, whilst banks can also reject the claim entirely if the victim is found to be negligent when making the transfer. Before taking this survey, were you aware of this change in UK legislation.
Case study candidates are available for interviews.
Ask Silver is an AI-powered Scam Checker that consumers can use to check if something is a scam or not. It is available for free inside WhatsApp, just like any other contact of yours that you can message. You simply send through a screenshot of anything you want to check, and you can even report scams to the authorities with one tap at the end of the check.
Part two of the UK App Scam Survey by Ask Silver will be released on 15th November 2024.
*https://consumervoice.uk/finance/nine-million-people-caught-out-by-financial-scams-in-the-past-year/
**https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingseptember2023
www.psr.org.uk indicated they are available for commentary upon request