Bunq Won't Compensate Victim of PayPal Impersonation

By Netvora Tech News

A Dutch financial dispute resolution body, Kifid, has ruled that Bunq, a digital bank, does not have to compensate a customer who lost 70,000 euros due to a PayPal employee impersonation scam. The customer, who wishes to remain anonymous, received a call from a scammer pretending to be a PayPal employee, claiming that their account had been hacked.

The scammer convinced the customer to install AnyDesk on their smartphone, granting the scammer access to their phone. Over the course of 2.5 hours, the scammer initiated 27 transactions, totaling more than 69,000 euros. The customer later realized that the transactions were unrelated to their PayPal account and had been scammed.

The customer immediately froze their account and filed a complaint with Bunq, requesting compensation for the loss. However, the bank refused, citing that the customer had shared their security code with the scammer, making the transactions legitimate.

Dispute Over Responsibility

The customer argues that Bunq was responsible for preventing the fraud and could have taken steps to recover the stolen funds. They point out that the bank could have contacted European banks where the fraudulent transactions were made and requested that they be reversed.

However, Kifid ruled that the transactions were legitimate, as the customer had authenticated them by sharing their security code. The institute also found that Bunq's customer agreement does not apply in this case, as the customer had been misled by the scammer.

The customer's request for 70,000 euros in compensation was denied. In its decision, Kifid emphasized that the customer was responsible for the loss, as they had shared their security code with the scammer.

Bunq claims that the customer's security code was entered multiple times before the fraudulent transactions were made.
Kifid ruled that the transactions were legitimate, as the customer had authenticated them by sharing their security code.
The customer's request for compensation was denied, with Kifid citing the customer's responsibility for the loss.

The case highlights the challenges faced by victims of phishing and banking fraud scams, who often find themselves at odds with financial institutions over who is responsible for the loss.