Online fraud compensation claims

Online fraud compensation claims are growing as criminals are making use of e-skimming hacks to steal payment card information in real-time.

When you withdraw money from an ATM or make a card purchase in a shop, you can shield the keypad when you enter your pin and keep an eye over your shoulder for anything suspicious. You may also be able to tell if there’s something dodgy on the ATM or card reader that could indicate it’s not secure.

But when you’re shopping online or in an app, you can’t really take those kinds of precautions. People are at increasing risks of e-skimming which involves card information being stolen in real-time online, so here’s our advice for what victims can do.

First things first: try not to panic

We appreciate that the first thing many victims will do is panic when they discover they’ve been the victim of an e-skimming incident. I know I have! It’s worrying to suddenly find that money has been taken from your bank without your permission, or that there are fraudulent purchases on your account or on a credit card account. It’s worrying when you have no idea how badly compromised your accounts may be and what might happen next.

Although it’s easier said than done, try to stay calm. The first thing to do before anything else is alert your bank and whichever organisation is responsible for the account that has been compromised if applicable. You can then also report the crime to Action Fraud on their website here.

What happens in terms of refunds or assistance from your bank can depend on the company. How long it does take for a bank to refund stolen money (if they will) can vary based on their own rules, but I once had a suspected fraudulent transaction refunded shortly after I called my bank. In terms of online fraud compensation, that’s where we come in.

Claiming for online fraud compensation

If you’ve fallen victim to an e-skimming event, you could be entitled to claim for online fraud compensation.

There are two elements to most claims. In terms of how to get your money back after being scammed online, you can speak to your bank or include it as part of a case with us. Some banks – particularly for credit card accounts – will refund money once an issue has been alerted to them, but if not, we can look to include this as part of a case.

The second element you can claim for is the distress caused by the loss of control of your personal information. This can be significant, especially when it comes to personal and sensitive data. Data breach compensation awards can be based on the extent of the distress that’s caused.

Either way, it’s possible that you can get your money back from a fraudulent bank transfer or purchase. It usually is a case of having to get money refunded given that card data is being stolen in real-time and compromised accounts can then be abused quickly.

An increasing problem

We expect to continue to take on more and more data breach cases that involve an element of online fraud compensation.

These kinds of incidents are taking place a lot because of poor cybersecurity on websites. Many people are completely unaware that their payment card data is being copied by hackers as it gets legitimately processed through an e-commerce system. It’s only when a fraudulent transaction occurs that the compromise is then identified.

There are some big-name examples where cybercriminals have used malicious coding inserted into a company’s online payment system to steal customer data. The BA Group Action – the first GDPR Group Litigation Order (GLO) in England and Wales – stems from this kind of breach. We’re acting for a large number of victims as one of the firms appointed to the Steering Committee of this pioneering data compensation action.

Another example is the Ticketmaster data breach that we’re also representing people for.

Online fraud compensation is a serious business. As a leading firm of data breach claims experts that have been specifically representing clients for these cases for the last five years, we can help you.

Feel free to contact our team for no-obligation advice about our No Win, No Fee representation.

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