This article was translated from Arabic. Read the Arabic original
The Court of Justice of the European Union (EuGH) has ruled that banks must first immediately refund money to victims of account fraud, even if they accuse them of gross negligence. According to the court’s statement, the payment service provider may afterwards claim reimbursement of losses attributable to the customer’s gross negligence.
Phishing case from Poland
The case originated in Poland, where a bank customer had offered an item for sale on an online platform. A fraudster posed as a buyer and sent her a link he claimed was from the platform to confirm the sale. The link led her to a website resembling her bank’s site, where she entered her online banking login details. The fraudster thus obtained her data and transferred around 700 euros to his own account.
The customer notified her bank the following day, but the bank refused compensation, arguing that she had facilitated the fraud through gross negligence. She then turned to a Polish court, which referred the case to the European court.
Only one exception
The court ruled in favour of the plaintiff, stressing that banks must immediately refund amounts resulting from such transactions if customers report them in time. Under EU law there is only one exception: if there are grounds to suspect that the customer is acting fraudulently and the bank has notified the competent national authority of this in writing. The court pointed to the aim of ensuring a high level of consumer protection.
Source: help.ORF.at
