Banks need to do more to help customers hit by scams, UK watchdog urges 

Reports of such fraud up 66% from April to June

Banks need to treat people more fairly when they are the victim of scams, according to the UK financial sector's official complaints body, which is finding in the customer’s favour in 75% of such cases.

The Financial Ombudsman Service said that the number of people asking it for help with fraud and scams was up 66% from April 1 to  June 30, compared with the same three months in 2020.

Over that period, 60% of fraud and scam complaints were upheld, in favour of the consumer, compared with 50% the previous year. 

However, when it came to complaints about banks and other firms refusing to refund money that people had lost through scams, such as authorised push payment fraud — which involves email accounts being hacked — the ombudsman upheld  75% in customers' favour. 

A spokesperson said these figures "suggest that banks and other financial institutions still need to do more to resolve complaints from their customers fairly, before people are forced to seek help from the Financial Ombudsman Service".

Earlier this week, the banking body, UK Finance, said fraud posed a national security threat, with £754m stolen from UK bank customers during the first half of this year, as scammers capitalised on the coronavirus pandemic.