Nationwide issues warning over £100 fraud fee ‘limit’ and urges customers to ‘come forward’

NATIONWIDE has issued a warning after it was discovered that customers are not reporting scams under £100.

A study by the lender found a quarter of victims never reported their crimes, while a further 29% did not report scams under £100.

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Nationwide is encouraging customers to report scams,.[/caption]

Meanwhile, more than four in ten 25 to 34-year-olds were too embarrassed to report fraud of any amount, compared to a third of over 55s. 

Furthermore, one in three people aged 25 to 34 didn’t think they would get their money back, compared to more than half of those aged 35 to 44s. 

The discovery comes as the bank said it would waive the £100 excess as part of the new Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) fraud rules which came into effect in October.

Jim Winters, head of economic crime at Nationwide said: “As anyone affected by fraud or scams knows, it can have devastating effects.

“Protecting our customers is our top priority and that is why we are waiving the £100 excess because we want to encourage everyone to report incidents. It’s the right thing to do and we hope others will follow suit.” 

The PSR is the watchdog for payment systems in the UK.

Earlier this month, the body enacted new rules came which meant households, businesses and charities will be reimbursed financially if they are the victim of online banking fraud.

There is no minimum amount a person can claim for, but the maximum is £85,000.

However, banks can ask victims can apply a voluntary excess of £100 to victims.

This means that if your claim is for a payment of £100 or less, trying to recover the money may not be of any benefit.

This cannot be applied to vulnerable customers.

Nationwide joins Virgin Money, TSB and AIB in not charging the excess fee.

A Virgin spokesperson, previously told The Sun. said: “Where customer circumstances result in a reimbursement under the rules, we are not planning to apply the voluntary excess, and this includes claims under £100.”

While a TSB said that the bank is “prioritising fraud protection for customers”.

They said: “Charging £100 could exclude a third of all victims from claiming refunds – and it’s not right to penalise people for scams that take place largely due to weaknesses on social media platforms.”

Last year there were 232,429 cases of APP fraud in the UK – a 12% jump since the year before.

Meanwhile, HSBC, First Direct, Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, all said they would choose to implement it.

How do I protect myself against scammers?

When shopping online, always be cautious about where you’re buying from and what you’re buying.

If a price looks too good to be true, sometimes it actually is.

It’s much safer to stick to reputable websites where you know people in the UK usually shop from.

If you’re not sure about a website, it’s worth googling customer reviews and asking friends for their experiences.

Fraud cases which begin through phone conversations or emails are typically less common, but can lead to scammers getting hold of larger amounts of your cash.

Always check the source of the phone call by googling the number, or making sure the email is from an official domain.

Scammers can pose as banks and other trusted sources to get the information from you which they need to enter your bank account.

Always be sceptical not to provide any personal details over the phone – do not give away your PIN or full password as your bank will not need this and you are likely being scammed.

If you’re unsure, end the call and ring the trusted number of the organisation so that you definitely know you’re talking to the right people.