On the one hand, many banks ask customers to justify what happened – how did they allow themselves to be conned of their cash? In many cases, customers still receive some money back from their bank. But all too often, they don’t.
The alternative approach is simply to say: the criminal, not the customer, is to blame. Provided the customer wasn’t reckless, all innocent victims of scams should get their money back.
This is the approach we take at TSB. When we promised to refund all victims, via our fraud refund guarantee, over a year ago, we were criticised in some quarters by people talking about “behaviour deterrents” and the “moral hazards” of taking a blanket approach to support our customers. But all this feedback was misplaced.
It has certainly not been our experience that providing a guarantee for our customers makes them more likely to risk their money. I’ve never seen anybody suggest that the introduction of airbags for cars made people drive faster.
Crucially, taking this approach has also helped build greater trust with our customers. I’ve seen huge benefit in the open and honest way in which customers now discuss their case, safe in the knowledge that we’re not looking to apportion blame.
The result is that we now understand fraud much better and, crucially, we’ve used this information to actively pursue the criminals behind these attacks through our partnerships with several police forces. The additional evidence from victims is often the final piece in the puzzle in gaining a conviction. And it also means the education and awareness we now provide to warn people of tell-tale signs and common tricks is the most relevant.
Over the next six months, our country faces a monumental challenge as we try to rebuild the economy and look after the most vulnerable in society. The key to our success will be how we can all work together – Government, businesses, communities and society. As we rebuild, just as we fight fraud, we need to focus on how we can help innocent, hard working people – not deciding who’s to blame.
Debbie Crosbie is chief executive of TSB