'I lost money to an investment scam, but the bank branch staff couldn't help me'

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Dear Which?,

I fell for a scam on the internet which involved fake investments.

I ended up sending £11,000 from my Ulster Bank account and £6,000 from Santander.

I did try to halt the payments in the branch when I realised that I was being scammed, but the branch staff were of little help. 

They told me there was nothing I could do and that I'd have to contact the bank's fraud team by phone – but wouldn't allow me to use their phone system.

Is there anything I can do?

Name and location withheld

Put to rights

Mike Croxford, Which? Money Helpline adviser, says:

It may be possible to get your money back, as both banks should have done more to protect you from transferring money to the scammer.

You should complain to the banks and, if they reject your complaints or don't respond within eight weeks, go to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

Both Ulster Bank and Santander are signed up to the Authorised Push Payment (APP) Scam Code, which requires banks to provide effective warnings to customers, act quickly when a scam is reported and reimburse customers who aren’t to blame. 

Ulster Bank failed to provide an effective warning, despite your payments going to a bank account in Colombia, which was not a usual transaction for you. 

It said that it had tried to contact you about the transactions, but allowed the payment to proceed even though it wasn’t able to get your confirmation first. 

As your experience in the branch illustrated, Ulster Bank failed to act quickly once it had been alerted that a scam had taken place.

Within two weeks of sending the case to the FOS, you had a letter from Ulster Bank stating that it was refunding you the £11,000. You’re still awaiting a response from Santander.

Investment scams are a huge problem, with losses rising 57% to nearly £172m in 2021, and it can be difficult to tell real investments from fake.

If in doubt, don’t invest. The safest way to find investments is through a regulated financial adviser or FCA-authorised investment platform.

Need to know

• Most banks are signed up to the Authorised Push Payment (APP) Scam Code, which requires them to provide effective warnings to customers, act quickly when a scam is reported and reimburse customers who aren’t to blame.
• You should contact your bank first, then the Financial Ombudsman Service.
• Find investments using a financial adviser or an FCA-authorised investment platform.

Get in touch. If you've got a consumer rights problem you need putting right, email us at yourstory@which.co.uk. 

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