What Is Authorised Push Payment Fraud?

That awful moment when it dawns on you and you discover you’ve been had – sickening, isn’t it? It’s like a punch to the gut, knowing someone has tricked you into parting with your hard-earned money.

Sadly, that is becoming the reality for more and more unsuspecting victims these days.

Online criminals have developed an unsavoury change to their activities online, persuading victims to send their money to them voluntarily.

Rather than steal money directly from innocent people’s accounts, scammers prey on them and encourage them to give it up of their own accord. Using persuasive tactics, today’s unscrupulous thieves get their marks to make immediate payments to their fraudulent accounts. They do this by ramping up a degree of urgency to instil a sense of panic. These could be via fake bargains that won’t be available as cheaply the next day, or a need to avoid charges by making immediate cash transfers.

Known as Authorised Push Payment (APP), it’s becoming an increasingly-rife problem in the UK. Hundreds of thousands of cases were reported to UK Finance by financial services providers in 2023 – that’s a 12% rise in callous crimes, against often vulnerable victims.

Three quarters of APP fraud starts online and the scams are driven by the abuse of digital platforms and communications. These take one of many forms, such as faux investments, conveyancing fraud, romance scams and the promise of luxury goods at too-good-to-believe prices.

Nearly half a billion pounds was lost to APP fraud in 2022, and a further £460 million last year. Consumers are the ones bearing the brunt, with individuals’ losses accounting for more than £375m of that total. Romance scams alone accounted for £36.5 million of money stolen from individuals in 2023.

So, what should you be aware of if you are to prevent scammers from taking your money?

The main types of APP scams tend to be:

Social Engineering – Scammers impersonate others to manipulate their victims with a view to them surrendering their personal information or authorising payments to fraudulent accounts.

Phishing – Scammers impersonate trusted institutions and email or text links to harmful software downloads. They may send fake notification claiming the victim’s credit card or loan payment is overdue, accompanied by a link to a fake banking app. This app will either convince the victim to make a payment or, at the very least, get them to share sensitive information with the scammers for future use. Businesses are also at risk, should they receive a seemingly-legitimate invoice but with an amended payment link or altered recipient account details.

Confidence trickery – Gaining their victim’s trust to access their account or have them transfer money directly. These usually centre on establishing an ongoing business or personal relationship and asking for money against a fake back-story. Scammers also pretend to be government bodies or pose as businesses such as couriers, retailers or tradespeople.

Property scams – Scammers use the uncertainty and stress involved in house buying and intercept communications with unfamiliar agents such as conveyancers, estate agents, solicitors and vendors. With so many new or unusual emails being sent and received it becomes easier for a fraudster to impersonate people working to facilitate the purchase.

Account hijacking – Gaining illegal access to a victim’s personal accounts, such as a social media account, to pose as them and request money from friends or family.

Bogus purchases or investments – Offering goods or services, including financial products such as loans, at attractive prices that will never be delivered. These can also involve too-good-to-be-true investment opportunities. These are often carried out via fake websites posing as legitimate, trusted brands.

Family request scams – Faked requests, supposedly from a family member, who is in need of an emergency cash transfer, having lost their phone or similar and needs quick access to some money, perhaps in order to get home.

Lost pet scams – Fraudsters scour forums for lost pet posts and claim to have found the missing animals, using images stolen from social media or similar to back up their claims. They demand payment for their safe return, preying on frantic owners’ worry and anguish.

As you can see, protecting yourself is paramount when scammers are trying to take your money by hook or by crook.

These are our top 10 tips to protect yourself from APP scams:

Always take the time to consider if the payment you are making is to a genuine organisation.
Verify that the request for a payment is genuine.
Don’t use email to confirm an organisation’s authenticity – they could be intercepted.
Contact the bank or firm you believe you are dealing with to check on any payment details.
Verify any requests for payments, especially from an unexpected or unfamiliar source.
Question any and all suspicious approaches for online payments.
When you do make a payment use secure and trusted methods.
Keep up to date with fraudsters’ tried-and-tested tricks and the latest trends among thieves.
Monitor your accounts and transactions for unusual activity or payments.
Use strong passwords for your accounts and change them regularly.

So stay vigilant, never be rushed or pressurised into making a rash transfer without thinking it through. Remember to do everything you can to preserve your hard-earned money, and get help from the experts if you’re ever unsure.

You should be able to rely on your bank to help protect you from authorised push payment fraud. They have an obligation to protect their customers’ money by keeping their security systems updated and effective. However, with victims being duped into voluntarily making the payments (following which the money transferred will undoubtedly be moved on) it is by no means a certainty that the bank will look favourably on arranging for your losses to be refunded.

So, if you have had money stolen from you in an APP scam, it’s time to take action. Instructing Barings Law’s legal experts to act on your behalf offers you the best chance of recovering your stolen money via a compensation claim.

You have nothing to lose, and there is no financial risk as our work is carried out on a no-win no-fee basis, meaning that if your compensation claim is not successful, you won’t have to pay anything for our services.

All you need to do is click the button below to start you claim. Once our team have assessed your case, they will then be in contact to get the ball rolling.