Banks involved, help desk fraud damage nearly doubled | cash

The Dutch Banking Association (NVB) says that so-called bank help desk fraud, as opposed to phishing and bank card theft, is still on the rise. According to the Federation of Trade, this relatively new form of fraud is difficult to prevent, as criminals require consumers on behalf of the bank to transfer money to them.

Total damage from payment system fraud increased by nearly €14 million in 2021 to more than €62 million, NVB reports. This is while the damage caused by other forms of fraud such as phishing and stolen cards has decreased. “The actions that banks are taking to prevent harm from traditional forms of fraud are doing better and better,” NVB said.

Campaign

“But if customers are persuaded to transfer the money themselves, it will be difficult for the bank to identify the fraud,” Deputy Director Aled van der Zwaan said in an explanation. “So we are launching a new public campaign later this year to help customers identify fraud early.” According to the NVB, banks never ask customers over the phone or text to transfer money to another account.

The banks say they are not responsible for the damage, but last year they reimbursed 92 percent of the damage caused by bank help desk fraud “out of good faith”. According to the NVB, “It is important that victims report the fraud to the police.”