Bank customers ripped off abroad after big night out

What a hangover: bank customers ripped off abroad after big night out

Imagine this: you’re overseas, drinking in a bar. Next thing you know, people you don’t know are in your hotel room and your credit card has racked up a huge bar bill.

Or, on an international stopover you meet a local who takes you to his house. You get drawn into a gambling game with other locals. Next thing you know, you’ve being taken to a shop to buy lots of things you then gamble away and lose back at the house.

Both sound like scenes from Hangover movies, but they were real cases the Banking Ombudsman Scheme investigated in the 2015-16 financial year.

Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden said that in both cases, the complainants wanted their banks to refund them but their bank didn’t agree that it should. Both were scam victims and their losses weren’t caused by their banks which were essentially following their customers’ instructions.

“In the first case the bank wouldn’t refund the customer because his card was present for the bar transactions and not reported lost or stolen. The second complainant got nothing back because he himself had authorised the transaction in the shop using his PIN and it was only realised later he had been scammed,” Ms Sladden said.

To protect yourself from fraud on your travels:

• be vigilant and wary of people you don’t know regardless of how much fun they are

• look after your cards like you would your wallet or car keys

• make sure you know what to do if you lose your card and act quickly. Banks provide dedicated phone numbers to report lost or stolen cards

• specify accounts linked to your card and restrict access to accounts with big balances

• take care nobody sees when you enter your PIN at an ATM or shop check-out.

For more information to protect your finances on your travels see our quick guides on Looking after your credit and debit cards and PINs, Common scams targeting bank customers and Credit and debit card transaction chargebacks.

The 2015-16 Banking Ombudsman Scheme Annual Report is available as an animated flipbook and PDF.

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