Launched in 2016, the Banking Protocol is a UK-wide scheme,
developed in partnership between UK Finance, local police
forces and National Trading Standards. Branch staff are trained
to spot the warning signs that suggest a customer may be
falling victim to a scam, before alerting their local police
force to intervene and investigate the suspected fraud.
Last year the Banking Protocol was invoked 7,879 times, saving
potential victims an average of £5,749 each. The scheme led to
the arrest of 200 suspected criminals. The latest figures,
covering fraud prevented through alerts made by branch staff,
mean there have been a total of 843 arrests since the protocol
began.
The Banking Protocol scheme is used to prevent a variety of
different crimes, including romance, impersonation, courier,
and rogue trader scams. Customers assisted by the scheme are
offered ongoing support to help prevent them from falling
victim to scams in the future, including referrals to social
services, expert fraud prevention advice and additional checks
on future transactions.
Katy Worobec, Managing Director of Economic Crime, UK
Finance, commented:
“The Banking Protocol demonstrates the success of close
collaboration between the banking and finance industry and
the police in helping vulnerable victims, stopping fraud from
happening in the first place and bringing the criminals
responsible for fraud to justice.
“Partnerships like the Banking Protocol are crucial, not
only for the potential victims of this crime, but to stop
money going on to fund organised crime and terrorism with
devastating consequences. As criminals have adapted their
techniques to commit fraud, the industry is rolling out an
enhanced scheme to ensure customers banking via the telephone
or online, as well as in branch, are protected from
fraud.
“It’s vital that people always follow the advice of the
Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign and be aware that criminals
are experts at impersonating people, organisations and the
police. Take a moment to stop and think before parting with
your money, and remember that a bank or the police will never
ask you to transfer funds to a ‘safe account’ or to withdraw
cash to hand over to them for safe-keeping.”
To build on the success of the scheme, banks and building
societies are working with local police forces on expanding it
to cover attempted bank transfers made by customers through
telephone and online banking. So far, 24 police forces across
the UK — over half of all forces — are signed up to the
enhanced scheme, which has been particularly important for
vulnerable customers who are unable to visit their local
branch, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Staff working
in call centres and in online banking teams notify the police
when attempted bank transfers are being made which they believe
may be the result of a scam. UK Finance is working with its
members to see how the enhanced scheme can be rolled out more
widely.
T/Commander Clinton Blackburn, from the City of London
Police - the National Lead Force for fraud - said:
“The Banking Protocol is a fantastic initiative which
demonstrates just how effective a whole-system approach to
fighting fraud can be.
“The systems in place allow us to stop people becoming
victims of fraud at the point of transfer, and also catch
criminals red-handed.
“We’re delighted to the see the scheme going from
strength to strength and look forward to more people being
protected as the initiative rolls out across telephone and
online banking services.”
UK Finance is urging customers to follow the advice of the
Take Five to Stop Fraud
campaign, and remember a bank or the police will never ask you
to transfer funds to another account or to withdraw cash to
hand over to them for safe-keeping.
