Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud, also known as bank transfer fraud, is a sophisticated form of cybercrime where scammers employ various tactics such as impersonation, interception, and social engineering, including grooming, to persuade victims to transfer money from their bank accounts directly to the fraudsters.

A common variant of this crime is 'two-step bank fraud'. Here, victims are initially directed to transfer their funds from one bank to another. Subsequently, they are instructed to move these funds into 'a new account' purportedly in their name but actually controlled by the scammer. Typically, the fraudsters quickly transfer the money to another account, often abroad, making it extremely challenging to trace or recover.

Banks are expected to be vigilant about such scams and are required to have robust systems and processes to detect or deter them as they occur. These measures include:

• Issuing scam warnings during the transaction process.
• Halting or pausing transactions that appear suspicious.
• Directly contacting customers if their transaction activities seem out of the ordinary.

In cases where the bank fails to provide adequate safeguards, resulting in a customer losing money to a scam, the victim has the option to escalate the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS is an independent, government-endorsed entity tasked with investigating and resolving disputes between financial institutions and consumers, whether they be businesses or individuals. The FOS plays a critical role in adjudicating these matters, offering a recourse for those affected by banking negligence or failure in protecting customers from such frauds.