A man who lost $35,000 buying a car that turned out to be stolen has complained to the Banking Ombudsman.
Photo: 123RF
Consumer NZ is calling for scam protection to apply to online marketplaces, after a man lost $35,000 buying a car that turned out to be stolen.
The man complained to the Banking Ombudsman about the scam.
He transferred $35,000 from his account into someone else’s, trying to buy a car online.
But the car was later proven to be stolen. He reported the fraud to the bank and the police. His bank tried to retrieve his money, the ombudsman scheme said, but was unsuccessful.
He complained the bank had not acted quickly enough to recover the funds, did not keep him informed and did not reimburse him.
He also asked why the transaction was not identified as suspicious.
The ombudsman scheme investigated and said the payment did not raise any suspicions that should have prompted the bank to make further inquiries.
“The bank was not therefore obliged to reimburse his loss. We also found the bank made reasonable efforts to recover the money. It contacted the receiving bank within 30 minutes of [the man] notifying it about the scam and asked for the money to be recalled. It also confirmed to [him] that it had taken this step.
“It contacted the receiving bank several more times, but the receiving bank eventually advised that it could not recover the money. In short, it acted promptly and communicated reasonably throughout.”
His complaint was not upheld.
Consumer NZ spokesperson Jessica Walker.
Photo: Supplied / Consumer NZ
Consumer NZ spokesperson Jessica Walker said it was an awful situation.
“Even the new scam reimbursement policy that the banks kicked off in December wouldn’t protect this person. We want protections to extend to online marketplaces. We also want social media and digital platforms to take accountability for scams that are happening on their watch. In the meantime, we urge ultra caution for anyone making purchases online. Because if things go wrong, right now there’s not much you can do.”
Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden said the scheme was seeing fewer scam-related complaints this year.
“However, the financial impact of scams remains significant, with losses continuing to rise – reminding us that scammers are adapting quickly, and we must stay vigilant.
“Scammers target people of all backgrounds and ages. If you share personal information like bank account passcodes online, you could be at risk of a scam. You also need to be on guard when it comes to buying things online. Be wary of people or organisations advertising online. Check who you are paying before sending any funds.
“We encourage anyone who thinks they’ve been scammed to contact their bank as soon as possible. If you are not satisfied with the bank’s response, you can contact the Banking Ombudsman scheme.”
At the end of last year, updates to the Code of Banking Practice introduced new protections.
Banks now gave pre-transaction warnings for certain payments, offered confirmation of payee to check that an account number matched, identified high-risk transactions or unusual activity, offered a 24/7 reporting channel for customers who thought they had been scammed and shared scammer account information.
If they did not meet the commitments, they must compensate customers for all or part of their losses. They also compensated customers whose bank account was accessed without the customer’s authority.
