RACHEL RICKARD STRAUS: Banks are making it too easy for scammers

The banks play into the hands of scammers. I don’t say that lightly, but after seeing a text message from a scammer last week, I am convinced of the fact.

The message claimed to be from NatWest and was completely realistic. My friend who received it was convinced it was genuine. It appeared at the end of a series of genuine text messages he had previously received from NatWest. It warned him, in exactly the same language used by banks, that there had been suspicious activity on his account and that it needed to verify some recent transactions.

Terrifying, yes. But so far none of this is NatWest’s fault. Unfortunately, scammers can easily get their hands on genuine messages from banks and accurately impersonate them. Scammers also have technology called smishing that allows them to add their own text messages to existing threads.

But next is where I think NatWest – and indeed most major banks – need to take some responsibility.

The message continued, “Answer Y if you want to sort it out by text, that’s faster and easier. Answer N if you prefer to speak to the team, there may be a wait.’

My friend was about to answer Y and would have if I hadn’t suggested calling NatWest just to be on the safe side. Had he responded, the scammers probably would have sent more texts to get more information out of him. It wouldn’t have ended well.

The problem is that the scammers are right. Reaching out to a real person at a bank is often a long and frustrating process. They know how much we hate having to make calls: pressing 1 for this and 2 for that, the endless music on hold, the recorded messages where robot voices explain how important our call is to them.

Getting a hold of a bank employee in person is just as frustrating. A growing number of us can’t just come to our local branch because there’s a good chance it’s closed. NatWest announced last week that it would close a further 40 branches, while sister bank Royal Bank of Scotland will close five. Barclays is closing another 69 this year; HSBC 114; Lloyds Bank Group 37.

Sources told Group Wealth and Personal Finance editor-in-chief Jeff Prestridge last week that it may not be long before the number of remaining bank branches is reduced from 5,000 to just 1,000. So if a scammer says you can make the effort and reply by text instead, I’m sure a lot of people won’t think twice.

If banks are going to take away branches, they need to make sure the replacements they offer work for customers. And that means it’s easy and painless to get.

I am very concerned about the way the scam epidemic is being handled. Banks, government and regulators tell us that tackling fraud is a priority. But the action – and passivity – I saw last week has me questioning it.

We’ve been told that part of the solution is reporting scams to Action Fraud.

But when my friend finally reached the NatWest call center, Action Fraud wasn’t even mentioned. When my friend asked if there was anywhere he could report details of the scam, he got a grim answer: “No.”

The government reassures us that the Online Safety Act contains measures to tackle fraud. So where is it?

Years after it first came up, it is still making its way through parliament at a snail’s pace. The payment systems regulator will be able to force banks to publish data on how often they compensate victims. But last week it finally announced a timetable for doing so – and it’s still half a year away. Are scams so widespread that banks, government and regulators have almost given up trying to turn the tide?

Beans does not mean Heinz

Readers of Wealth & Personal Finance I hear you loud and clear: beans doesn’t mean Heinz. Last week I asked for recommendations for own-brand baked beans and many of you kindly responded.

Keith and John review Asda’s beans; Derek, Duncan and Bernard love Tescos. But by far the most popular was Aldi’s – a favorite of many readers including Tony, Ian, Lawrence and David. I look forward to trying them all.