The Financial Ombudsman Service has seen a 30% increase in complaints about “authorised” payment scams in the second quarter of this financial year compared to the same period last year.

Most of the complaints involve fraudsters conning consumers into making bogus bank transfers for goods and services.

A number of the complaints involve investment scams where the money transferred relates to an often bogus investment product.

The Financial Ombudsman Service received a total of 4,488 complaints about fraud and scams from July to September 2021 and upheld over 60% in the consumers’ favour. 

Nearly half of the complaints received (2,243) were about “authorised” payment scams compared to 1,725 in July - September 2020. 

The Ombudsman service said the jump reflected increased spending online and more fraudster activity during the pandemic. 

The vast majority of “authorised” scam complaints were so-called authorised push payments (APP). In these cases the victim is tricked into making bank transfers to an account posing as a legitimate payee. However, the Financial Ombudsman is also dealing with disputes about whether or not the consumer authorised a payment or withdrawal with their bank card. 

Almost three quarters of the “authorised” scam complaints were about consumers not receiving the goods or services that they ordered. A scammer often tricks a consumer into moving their money to a ‘safe account’ by telling them their bank account has been compromised, with some of these also linked to investment scams, the FOS says. 

The Financial Ombudsman Service will be publishing its quarterly data in relation to financial products and the number of complaints in each sector later today. 

Financial Ombudsman Service interim chief executive and chief ombudsman Nausicaa Delfas said: “It’s a real concern that we are continuing to see an increase in scam complaints, particularly when shopping online. If people feel they have not been treated fairly by their banks, we are here to help.”