Unauthorized payments, that is, transactions made without the consent of the owner of a bank account or payment card, have now become a real plague. How should we act when faced with such a situation?
A common problem of unauthorized payment transactions is a phenomenon that in most cases is not accidental. Often behind this is a mob of scammers who are trying to swindle our data in increasingly sophisticated ways, which they can then use to steal the money we have. Particular attention should be paid to suspicious emails and text messages, the authors of which, often impersonating bank employees, do everything to arouse our emotions and prompt us to action - for example, by clicking on an infected link.
However, even if we are careful with this practice, we can still fall victim to an unauthorized transaction. But what exactly is such a payment and what to do when we notice that money has disappeared from our account?
What are unauthorized payments and are they always fraudulent?
The issue of unauthorized transactions should be analyzed on the basis of the Law of August 19, 2011 on payment services. There is no single definition of unauthorized payment transactions, but, reading the rules, it seems that this term refers to all transactions that did not have the consent of the person from whose account they were made. The legislator also referred to unauthorized transactions transactions “imperfect or improperly completed” - thus showing what obligations are in question here.
Thus, unauthorized transactions will overwhelmingly be transactions authorized by another person, including a fraudster, who obtained the data to enable this type of activity.
These transactions can also be payments that the account owner agreed to under the influence of error or duress - for example, by clicking on a link in a message received from a scammer.
What should we do if we notice an unauthorized transaction on our account?
In the context of unauthorized transactions, the question arises: “what to do when we record such a movement in our bank account?”. We present a model course of action in such a situation.
Check if the transaction really meets the criteria for an unauthorized transaction
Sometimes it can happen that the money “disappeared” from our bank account was not related to any unauthorized transaction, but only to a standing payment or a subscription fee that we simply forgot about.
First, let’s check the details of this transaction, paying special attention to the moment of its completion, the addressee indicated in it, and a possible name.
If the transaction does indeed meet all the criteria for an unauthorized transaction, i.e. one to which we have not given our informed consent in any way, we should take action.
Report the unauthorized transaction to your bank
Reporting an unauthorized, failed or improperly executed transaction is a mandatory action that we must take immediately to recover lost funds.
The provision of Section 44 of the Payment Services Law of August 19, 2011, which mentions this, indicates that we must do this immediately, and the maximum period for such notice is 13 months from the date the payment account was debited. This limitation period will not apply only if the bank has previously violated its disclosure obligations in any way. However, in practice, it is not necessary to count on such refusals from the bank.
After proper and timely notification of an unauthorized transaction, the bank, as a guarantor of the stored funds, will return the money from this payment to us immediately - no later than the end of the business day following the day it was made or the date the notification was received.
The bank will not return the money to us only if:
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We will miss the 13-month reporting deadline;
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He will have a reasonable and documented suspicion that we have committed fraud (then, instead of returning the funds for the transaction, he will report the situation to law enforcement agencies).
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Block the card and block the funds in the account.
If you have reason to believe that an unauthorized transaction that you noticed on your bank account may be fraud and identity leakage, be sure to ask your bank to take additional steps, such as:
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Cancellation of the card;
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Blocking of funds on the account;
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Changing the login information required to authorize future transactions.
Unauthorized transactions - what else is worth knowing?
What else is worth knowing about unauthorized transactions? Here is the most important and useful information!
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The rules in force in this regard are clear: it is the bank, not its customers, who bears the burden of proving that the payment transaction was properly authorized. When reporting an unauthorized transaction, we are not required to prove it was unauthorized in any way (although if we have any evidence, reporting it should generally work in our favor);
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Where the bank has reasonable grounds to do so (for example, the unauthorized transaction was due to our negligence or failure to meet essential obligations), it will be able to require us to refund part or all of the amount of the unauthorized transaction. , which he previously transferred to our account;
You should report any event to the bank at all times, such as the loss, theft or misappropriation by a third party of our means of payment (such as a credit card), as well as any unauthorized use. Prompt reporting may allow us to limit our liability for any unauthorized transaction. However, this will not be possible if we cause it intentionally or as a result of gross negligence, which will lead to a violation of the basic obligations that we have as a client of the bank.
Source: Wprost
I am George Brown, author at Daily News Hack. I mostly cover economy news and I have been doing this for quite some time now. I have a lot of experience in this field and I’m always looking for new opportunities to learn more.
