The number of people turning to the Financial Ombudsman Service for help with fraud and scams soared by 66% in the first quarter of the 2021/22 financial year.
The financial body said it had dealt with 5,025 cases in the three-month period compared to 3,028 in the same period of the previous year. Cases included problems caused by fraudsters posing as a customer’s bank and convincing them to move their money to a fake account and consumers paying for goods via a bank transfer but not receiving what they paid for.
The Financial Ombudsman said that over the quarter, 60% of fraud and scam complaints were upheld by the organisation, up from 50% the previous year, but urged banks and other financial institutions to do more to resolve complaints from their customers fairly.
Nausicaa Delfas, interim chief executive of the Financial Ombudsman Service, said: “It’s a real concern that we are seeing such an increase in scams. It’s vital that people take extra care with their finances, as unfortunately fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated. If people feel they have not been treated fairly by their banks, we are here to help.”
The Ombudsman Service also saw a rise in the number of complaints about cryptocurrencies during the pandemic. While cryptocurrencies are unregulated investments, the Ombudsman Service can look into complaints about banking providers who refuse to reimburse consumers who feel they’ve been a victim of a cryptocurrency fraud or scam.
Overall, the Ombudsman Service received 50,906 complaints about financial businesses in the first three months of the financial year.
The figures also showed that current accounts were the product consumers complained about most for the first time in over a decade, with 6,911 complaints – an increase of 55% compared to the same period last year. Credit cards and car / motorcycle insurance also saw a high number of complaints made.
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