What is an Authorised Push Payment Scam (APP scam)?

An APP Scam is where a person uses a fraudulent or dishonest act or course of conduct to manipulate, deceive or persuade a victim into transferring funds from the victim’s account to an account not controlled by the victim, where:

• the recipient is not who the victim intended to pay; or 
• the payment is not for the purpose the consumer intended.

What are examples of an APP Scam? 

• Impersonation scams: Fraudsters pose as a bank employee, another trusted organisation, or a known contact in need
• Invoice scams: Scammers send fake invoices that appear legitimate, or provide new payment details for an outstanding invoice tricking you into making payments to fraudsters
• Investment scams: Fraudsters lure victims with the promise of high returns on investments and instruct them to transfer money to fake investment accounts
• CEO fraud: Fraudsters impersonate a company’s CEO or other senior executive to deceive employees into transferring company funds. 

How to prevent APP Scams

Before making a payment you should always take reasonable steps to verify that the account details you intend to pay are correct: 

• Conduct verbal checks: Check the request verbally, using a trusted contact for the supplier held on file. Do not use a number included within the request as this can result in you speaking to the fraudster
• Be cautious: Treat any request asking for confidential information or instructing you to change payment details with extreme caution. Remember that even an apparently genuine email address may have been hacked 
• Stay vigilant: Pay close attention to any warnings or questions raised as part of the process you follow when making a payment using any of our digital channels.

Remember – Barclays will never do any of the following: 

• Ask you to make payments or move money to a ‘safe account’
• Call you and ask you to provide or enter your PIN or use your biometric device for any reason
• Take control of your computer, or call you unexpectedly and direct you to a website

APP Scam Reimbursement 

On 7 October 2024, new UK-wide banking regulations about the way banks deal with victims of APP Scams have taken effect.

Under the new regulations, eligible victims may be reimbursed if they fall victim to an APP scam. The account which the victim has transferred their funds from and to must be an account in the UK, with the payments being sent using either the Faster Payments Scheme or Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS). 

The new regulations apply to victims who are:

• Individuals 
• Micro-Enterprises – enterprises that employ fewer than ten people and have either an annual turnover or annual balance sheet total that does not exceed €2 million
• Charities – specifically charities whose annual income is less than £1 million.  

The following scenarios would not be reimbursable under the new regulations:

• If you acted fraudulently or were part of the scam 
• Any APP Scam that occurred before 7 October 2024
• A claim made more than 13 months after the final payment to the scammer 
• Payments made to an account that is held outside of the UK
• Scam payments made by card, Bacs, cheques and/or cash 
• Payment made to an account in your own name that you control
• Payments that are not authorised by the victim 
• International payments sent from the UK
• A dispute you have with someone you’ve sent money to 
• Payments to or from credit unions, municipal banks and national savings banks
• You didn’t take reasonable steps to protect your money. For example if you: 
  • Knowingly gave us the wrong payment reason 
  • Ignored warnings we showed you when you were making the payment 
  • Ignored us if we told you we thought the payment might be a scam.

Please note that the maximum amount that can be refunded under the regulations is £85,000, and claims may be subject to an excess of up to £100 per claim. 

What to do if you’re a victim of an APP Scam

• Act fast: Talk to us straight away – the sooner you let us know, the sooner we can investigate. It's important you let us know if you've been scammed, no matter how small the amount. To report an APP Scam, call us on +44 (0) 1624 684020*
• Submit an APP Scam Claim: You can submit a claim to Barclays by calling us on +44 (0) 1624 684020* and we will assess whether your claim is eligible for an APP Scam reimbursement. The latest you can make a claim is 13 months after the final payment to the scammer
• Respond promptly: Barclays may request further information about the APP Scam during the investigation. Any further responses and information about the APP Scam should be provided promptly to increase the possibility of recovery and helps us track the criminals’ bank accounts
• Report: If you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland you must report the scam to Action Fraud¹ – the police’s national fraud and cyber-crime reporting centre. Call 0300 123 2040 or file a report at actionfraud.police.uk. If you live in Scotland you should report directly to Police Scotland by calling 101.

How we’ll handle claims 

When you make a claim, we’ll ask you to give as much information as possible and send any evidence you have. Then, if you’ve been scammed, we’ll:

• Share the details of your claim with any banks you sent money to, so we can work with them to investigate 
• Try to get your money back from the scammer’s account. If we’re successful, we’ll send you any money we get
• If we can’t get all your money back, we’ll use the new regulations from the PSR to decide if you’re eligible for us to help cover the amount you’ve lost. If you aren’t eligible, we’ll reject your claim. 

We will usually respond to your claim within 5 business days of your scam claim. However, in some cases it can take up to 35 business days as we may need to gather extra information.

If we get your money back from the scammer, you’ll get the full amount. If we can’t get your money back and your claim is eligible, we’ll help cover what you’ve lost. The most we can cover under the new regulations will usually be £85,000, but we assess claims individually and on a case by case basis, including the consideration of any potential vulnerability and in some cases we might pay you more. 

If we get your money back after we pay you, and it’s more than the amount we’ve covered, we’ll send you the extra.

Terms 

We’ll be writing to you in 2025 to update your terms and conditions to take account of the change in regulation.

Complaints 

If you are not happy with our decision on the outcome of your claim, you have the right to make a complaint to us. You can do this in writing, by email, by telephone or by letting your relationship manager know. 

If we cannot resolve your complaint or you’re not happy with the outcome provided, you can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service¹. 

Keeping you safe

Scammers are always coming up with new ways to take your money. For practical steps on keeping your money where it should be and for useful tips to keep your money safe, visit our Fraud and Security page for more information.