FRAUDSTERS are conning families out of £1million-a-day in bank transfer scams.
Horrifying figures show how in the first six months of 2018 some £145million went missing.
The shocking total is almost £1million every day and some banks are refusing refunds after blaming customers for approving the transactions.
According to the Daily Mail, just £31million of the missing £145million was paid back to customers.
Later this week the payments watchdog is set to outline new rules to inform banks when victims need to be given refunds.
The rule change will say that customers who have taken reasonable care looking after their finances should be reimbursed in the event of a scam.
Almost a quarter of the total money stolen, £36.6million, was taken as a result of impersonation fraud with criminals posing as banks, HMRC or police officers.
Meanwhile, other victims have been targeted by fraudsters posing as tradespeople, such as builders.
Former NHS worker Jo Wilson, 61, had her bank account emptied of £40,000 after scammers called her pretending to be from Natwest.
The scammers tricked the panicked retiree into handing over a code generated by a card reader she had at home.
They then transferred the money in two huge lump sums, worth £19,500 and £19,600, over two days.
Wes Streeting, a Labour member of the Commons Treasury committee, told the Mail: “The rate of fraud is increasing at an alarming rate and in the vast majority of cases victims never see their money again. It’s wholly unacceptable.
“All of us must take personal responsibility for protecting ourselves against fraud, but banks must also acknowledge that scams are becoming more sophisticated.”
Another Labour member of the committee, Rushanara Ali, added: “Banks have often been too quick to blame their customers for failing to spot fraudulent activity.”
