This week, at the US House Financial Services Committee hearing, Representative Stephen F. Lynch announced a draft of the Protecting Consumers From Payment Scams Act. If enacted, this would expand the existing protection for US customers (Regulation E) who have funds transferred out of their account without their consent, to also cover when the customer is tricked into performing the fraudulent transfer themselves. This development is happening in parallel with efforts in the UK and elsewhere to reduce fraud and better protect victims. However, the draft act’s approach is notably different from the UK approach – it’s simpler, gives stronger protection to customers, and shifts liability to the bank receiving fraudulent transfers. In this post, I’ll discuss these differences and what the implications might be.
The type of fraud the proposed law deals with, where criminals coerce victims into making payment under false pretences, is known as Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud and is a problem worldwide. In the UK, APP fraud is now by far the most common type of payment fraud, with losses of £355 million in the first half of 2021, more than all types of card fraud put together (£261 million).
APP fraud falls outside of existing consumer protection, so victims are commonly held liable for the losses. The effects can be life-changing, with people losing 6-figure sums within minutes. It’s therefore welcome to see moves to better consumer protection. The UK was one of the first to tackle this problem, with a voluntary code of practice being put in place following years of campaigning by consumer rights organisations, particularly Which.
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