UK Committee Recommends Help for Scam Victims

Category: Top Stories

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. perpetrator / ˈpɜr pɪˌtreɪ tər / (n) – a person who does something bad or illegal
    Example:

    The perpetrators of the scam lied to their victims about the possible profits the latter could make.


  2. impersonate / ɪmˈpɜr səˌneɪt / (v) – to pretend to be someone else
    Example:

    Robert can easily impersonate Stephen because they are twins.


  3. reimburse / ˌri ɪmˈbɜrs / (v) – to pay back, usually a specific amount of money that was lost or used
    Example:

    The company usually reimburses the executive’s travel expenses.


  4. credential / krɪˈdɛn ʃəl / (n) – a tool used to verify information containing someone’s identity
    Example:

    Randy forgot his account credentials, so he had to go to the bank to fix the problem.


  5. reconsider / ˌri kənˈsɪd ər / (v) – to think about something again and decide if an action or an opinion needs changing
    Example:

    Peter asked the committee for more time to reconsider the final judgment on his case.


Article

Read the text below.

The United Kingdom’s Commons Treasury Committee submitted a report giving recommendations to help victims of a money transfer scam.


In the first six months of 2019, bank customers in the United Kingdom lost £207.5 million to authorized push payment, a scam that has been going on in the country since 2016. Perpetrators of this scam impersonate authorities or people the victims previously transacted with. Then, they send fake invoices to trick the account owners to transfer money from personal bank accounts to an account controlled by the criminals. The money transfer is instant, and since victims themselves authorize the transfer, the money lost is usually not refunded by banks.


After learning how much the scam affected victims, the committee found the banks guilty of failing to protect their customers. According to the committee, the banks neglected to check if account names corresponded to the correct account numbers during payments. As a result, perpetrators have taken advantage of this weakness.


To address the problem, a code of conduct created to reimburse scam victims was put into effect. However, only customers who took steps to avoid being tricked but were nonetheless scammed would be refunded. Some of the steps customers should have undertaken to qualify for a refund include heeding bank warnings and not sharing security credentials carelessly.


Additionally, authorities recommend that banks impose a 24-hour delay on money transfers to give customers time to reconsider their decisions. They also want a more active role from banks in educating customers about the risks of becoming victims of the scam.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

• Do you agree with the recommendation that banks should refund customers who were scammed? Why or why not?
• Aside from the 24-hour delay in money transfer, what other measures can banks put in place to prevent scams or protect their customers? Discuss.

Discussion B

• What are indicators that something might be a scam? Discuss.
• What preventive measures can you suggest to avoid being scammed?