What Legal Options Are Available to Recover Funds if You Are an Online Fraud Victim?
To understand how to recover your money, it's important to know why you have lost it. There are many options:
- You have bought a product on a fraudulent website - you have paid the money, but the "seller" doesn't get in touch.
- You have been told to transfer money to a "safe" bank account by someone claiming to be an "employee of the central state savings bank».
- You simply don't know why or by whom your card has been charged.
- And many others.
Remember that fraudulent schemes are becoming more advanced and sophisticated, so you need to be especially careful. It is better to be suspicious and spend time checking the information than to be left without money, even if you can try to get it back.
What Protection Mechanisms Exist?
Starting July 25, 2024, a new version of the Federal Law "On the National Payment System" will come into effect. This law will oblige banks to protect their customers. Now the Central Bank maintains a database of companies suspected of fraud. After the changes to the law, banks will be obliged to check the database and suspend suspicious transactions. The database is updated with information received from banks, which in turn get it from their customers. Since October 2023, the Interior Ministry has also been adding to the database.
The CBR's instructions should be followed by all banks if the following signs are present:
- The client has transferred money to the account of an organization from the Central Bank's "fraudsters" database (it does not matter how: by phone number, account or card).
- When making a transfer, devices are used that are common in fraudulent schemes.
- The transaction that the client tries to carry out is different from those he/she usually performs. The criteria are different: the transfer is made to an unusual location (for example, the client has paid for housing and utilities in Saratov, and 15 minutes later tries to transfer a six-figure sum from Vladivostok), or the amount of the transfer is suspicious (significantly more than usual transfers).
Operations are suspended for 2 days, during which time the bank must contact the client and find out whether he agrees to make the payment, as well as explain why the operation is suspended and inform that it looks like a fraudulent one.
When The Money Is to Be Refunded
Banks are obliged to reimburse you in full if they have not fulfilled the requirements of the law. For example, you made a transfer to one of the companies that is already in the fraud database, and the bank carried out the operation without suspending the process and finding out from you the reasons for the transfer.
In this case, you have the right to return the lost funds. To do this, you need to apply to the bank from whose account the funds were debited. The refund period is 30 days for transfers within the country and 60 days if you have transferred funds abroad.
When The Money Is NOT to Be Refunded
You can't get compensation if the bank has fulfilled the requirements of the law: i.e. it suspended the operation, clarified the necessity to carry it out, warned you about the risks and received confirmation that you agreed to the transfer. In this case, the bank is not liable and is not obliged to return the money you transferred to the fraudsters.
What to Do if Fraudsters Got Hold of The Money?
We should act according to the algorithm: stay calm and take active actions.