Bank Fraud: Will Your Bank Refund You If You've Been Scammed?

You open your banking app and see payments you don't recognize, or it suddenly hits you that the "fraud team" who called you earlier wasn't your bank at all, and that while you were on the phone your money was quietly leaving your account. It's a horrible feeling, and the first thing on your mind is whether your bank will give it back. We want you to know this from the start: very often it will, and the rules protect you more than most people realize.

We'll walk you through it calmly and in plain English: when your bank has to refund you, what to do today, and how to push back if the first answer is no. And if it hasn't happened to you, we'll also show you how to tell, in the moment, that the call or the text isn't really from your bank.

In this article

1. Authorized or unauthorized: the question that changes everything
2. What the rules say, in plain words
3. If someone called or texted pretending to be your bank
4. How to complain to your bank, step by step (with a template)
5. Card disputes and chargebacks
6. If your bank says no: where to escalate
7. Imagine this happens to you
8. How to protect yourself before it happens
9. Watch out for anyone promising to get it all back
10. When to get a lawyer involved

Authorized or unauthorized: the question that changes everything

Whether your bank has to refund you doesn't depend on whether you were tricked (you were), but on who actually gave the payment instruction.

• Unauthorized transaction. You didn't make it: someone got into your online banking with your login, used your card details, or got a one-time code out of you and used it to send money you never saw. This is where the rules are most clearly on your side.
• Authorized, but under a scam. You sent the money yourself, believing it was right: a fake shop, a fake investment, someone pretending to be a relative or "your bank's security team" telling you to move your savings to a "safe account". The protection works differently, but that doesn't mean nothing can be done.

The line isn't always obvious, and that matters. If a caller pretending to be your bank asked you to "confirm" a payment and told you it was to cancel it, you weren't agreeing to that payment, you were trying to stop it. That's why it's worth explaining exactly what happened rather than assuming it's lost before you even claim.

What the rules say, in plain words

In the United States

For debit cards and other electronic transfers, the key rule is Regulation E. What you might have to cover depends mainly on how fast you report:

• Within two business days of learning your card or access details were lost or stolen: no more than $50.
• After two business days: up to $500.
• Unauthorized transfers on your statement: report them within 60 days of the statement that first shows them. If your card wasn't lost or stolen and only the number was misused, you're not responsible for transfers reported within that window.

Once you report it, the CFPB explains that your bank or credit union generally has ten business days to investigate and must correct an error within one business day of finding it. Credit cards have their own protection: call the card company right away and send a written dispute within 60 days of the charge appearing on your statement.

In the United Kingdom

For unauthorized payments, the FCA is clear: tell your bank as soon as you notice, within 13 months of the payment, and the refund should be in your account by the end of the next business day. The bank can only refuse if you authorized the payment, acted fraudulently, or failed to protect your card, PIN or password in a way that allowed the payment. The use of your password, card or PIN might not on its own prove you authorized it.

For scams where you were tricked into sending the money yourself (known as APP fraud), there's been a big change. Since 7 October 2024, for payments made by Faster Payments or CHAPS, your bank must reimburse eligible victims up to £85,000, usually within five business days (up to 35 if it needs more information). Your bank may apply an excess of up to £100 (never for vulnerable customers), and you have 13 months from the final payment to claim.

What is "gross negligence"?

It's the argument banks lean on most when they refuse, so it's worth understanding. Gross negligence isn't "you got distracted" or "you clicked a text". It's a very serious, obvious lack of care. If your bank tells you it's your fault for clicking a link, don't just accept that answer. It's hard to hear when you're already upset, but a clear written complaint changes a lot.

If someone called or texted pretending to be your bank

This is the most common kind of bank fraud right now. It usually starts with a text that lands in the same thread as your bank's real messages, an email with the perfect logo, or a call from a number that looks like your bank's (caller ID can be faked, which is called spoofing). They mention a suspicious payment or a login from abroad and, with the pressure on, ask for a code, ask you to install an app or tell you to move your money somewhere "safe".

If this happened to you, please don't blame yourself: these calls are well rehearsed and they catch careful people every day. What you do now is what counts:

1. Hang up and call your bank yourself, using the number on its official website or on the back of your card, never one from the call or text.
2. Ask them to freeze your cards, online banking and pending payments, and to try to stop or recall any transfers already sent. Note the time, who you spoke to and the reference number.
3. Change your passwords from a device you trust, and if you installed an app they asked for, remove it and tell your bank.
4. Keep everything: texts, emails, your call log with numbers and times, screenshots and statements.
5. Report it: in the US to the FBI's IC3 and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov; in the UK to Report Fraud (or Police Scotland on 101). We explain how in how to report a scam.

If the money went through an app like Zelle or Cash App, the first steps are very similar and you'll find them in how to get money back from a Cash App or Zelle scam. If someone is also opening accounts in your name, see what to do about identity theft.

How to complain to your bank, step by step (with a template)

The phone call stops the bleeding, but the complaint that really counts is the one in writing. Use your bank's online complaint form, secure messaging or email, and keep a copy.

1. Explain what happened in order: how they contacted you, what they said, what you did and which transactions you don't recognize (date, time and amount of each).
2. Say clearly that you didn't authorize them and ask for a refund. If you were tricked into sending the money in the UK, say you're making an APP scam reimbursement claim.
3. Ask for a written explanation of how those payments were authenticated (which codes, which device, which checks).
4. Attach your police or fraud report number, screenshots and statements.
5. Keep proof of the date you sent it: that's when the clock starts.

You can adapt something like this:

I, [full name], holder of account [number] / card ending [last 4 digits], am reporting that I did not authorize the following transactions: [date, time, amount and payee for each]. I became aware on [date] and reported it by phone on [date and time], reference [number]. I request a full refund of these amounts and a copy of the authentication records for each transaction. I attach my fraud report, screenshots and statements. [Date and signature]

Card disputes and chargebacks

If the fraud was on a card, you have one more tool: a dispute or chargeback, where your bank claims the money back from the merchant through the card network. It's especially useful if you paid a shop that turned out to be fake or the order never arrived. In the US, credit card disputes should go in writing within 60 days of the statement. In the UK, ask your card provider as soon as possible, and if you paid by credit card, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act may also help for items costing more than £100 and up to £30,000. If the charges are ones you never made at all, that's an unauthorized transaction and the protection above applies.

If your bank says no: where to escalate

A first "no" isn't the end. In the UK, if you disagree with your bank's answer you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. It's free, and if it finds the bank treated you unfairly it can tell the bank to put you back where you'd have been, for example by reimbursing what you lost. In the US, you can submit a complaint to the CFPB and, depending on the bank, to its regulator. Either way, a well-documented complaint from day one helps whichever route you take next, including court if a lawyer thinks it makes sense.

If you sent the money yourself in the US, move fast: while the money is still in the receiving account it can sometimes be frozen and returned, which is why calling within minutes or hours makes such a difference. We go into this in how to get your money back after a scam. In many cases the money is recovered, especially if you act fast.

Imagine this happens to you

Imagine you get a text one evening warning of a login attempt from another country. Minutes later a "security officer" calls from a number that matches your bank's. He says he'll block the attempt and that, to do it, you need to read him the code you've just received. You do. The next morning you see two transfers of $1,800 you never made.

In a case like that, the first step would be to call the bank on its official number, lock online banking and ask them to try to recall the transfers. That same day, report it and send a written complaint saying you didn't authorize those transfers, that you gave the code believing it would cancel a fraud, and asking for a refund and the authentication records. It's only an example, but it shows why telling the story in detail matters so much: you weren't trying to send that money, you were trying to protect it.

How to protect yourself before it happens

If it hasn't happened to you, a few habits put you well ahead of the scammers:

• Your bank will never ask you for your full password or the codes sent to your phone by call, text or email. If someone does, however professional they sound, hang up and call the official number.
• Be suspicious of urgency. If you're told you must act "right now" to save your money, that's exactly the moment to stop and check.
• Read confirmation screens carefully. If it says "transfer" or "approve payment", it isn't a cancellation, whatever the caller says.
• Never install apps someone asks you to install over the phone, especially remote access apps.
• Turn on alerts for every transaction in your banking app, so you can act the moment something looks wrong.

Watch out for anyone promising to get it all back

When you've just lost money, it's easy to fall for ads or messages promising to recover everything in a few days for an upfront fee. Some even pretend to be your bank, the police or a law firm. We completely understand wanting it fixed now, but anyone guaranteeing 100% recovery for an upfront payment is usually the second scam. Before paying anyone, read how to spot crypto and fund recovery scams.

When to get a lawyer involved

If your bank refunded you within a day or two, great: keep the paperwork and carry on with your report. It's worth having a professional look at it when the bank refuses or doesn't reply, when you're accused of gross negligence, when the amount is significant, or when you sent the money yourself and you need to move fast to try to freeze it.

We are lawyers and expert investigators specializing in online scams, cryptocurrency and cybercrime, and every case is handled by a lawyer or an expert investigator. We'll go through with you whether your transaction counts as unauthorized, what to ask your bank for and how to document it so your claim carries weight. In many cases the money is recovered, especially if you act fast. At Kironic we do everything we can to recover your money: send us your case and we'll look at it together.