Banks demand Mark Zuckerberg’s compensation to British scam victims

Rocio Concha, a representative from consumer organization Which?, is urging the government to take action against online advertising fraud on popular social media sites and search engines. Concha emphasizes that the Online Safety Bill needs to provide effective safeguards to tackle this issue and must be passed into law without any delay. The rise of artificial intelligence is also a concern for banks, as scammers are becoming more sophisticated in their techniques, utilizing tools like ChatGPT and voice cloning. This has led to a significant increase in card ID fraud, with scammers using social engineering tactics to deceive consumers into revealing sensitive information.

While there are apprehensions about AI’s potential to further deceive individuals through voice and even video manipulation, experts believe that this technology is still far from being perfected. Nevertheless, the Payment Systems Regulator is currently seeking opinions on proposals that would require banks to compensate victims of certain types of fraud. However, the implementation of these measures has been postponed until 2024. The Treasury committee, consisting of influential MPs, finds this delay unacceptable and recommends that the system be put in place no later than the end of 2023. Data shows that only 59% of authorized push payment (APP) scams result in the victim receiving reimbursement from their bank.

In response to these concerns, a spokesperson from Meta (formerly known as Facebook) highlighted the company’s commitment to protecting users from scams. They mentioned the systems in place to block fraudulent activities, the requirement for financial services advertisers to be authorized by the financial regulator, and their efforts to raise awareness among users on spotting fraudulent behavior. Additionally, Meta collaborates with law enforcement agencies to support investigations.