Fraud Intelligence
Impersonation Scams
Impersonation scams, where criminals pose as your bank, the police, HMRC, or a solicitor, are the largest single category of authorised push payment fraud. Almost every victim is entitled to reimbursement under the new PSR rules.
The Mechanics
How the "Safe Account" playbook operates
Impersonation fraud relies on exploiting human psychology and technical blind spots. Understanding the exact mechanics of the deception is critical to building a legal case for bank reimbursement.
The Hook
Fraudsters use spoofed caller ID or highly convincing emails to make it appear as though a trusted institution is contacting you.
The Panic
They create a false sense of urgency, claiming your account is compromised or you are under investigation, bypassing your natural skepticism.
The Bypass
They instruct you to ignore automated bank warnings or Confirmation of Payee mismatches, framing them as "security tests".
The Drain
You are instructed to transfer funds to a "safe account", which is actually a mule account controlled by the criminal network.
Scam Variants
Common types of impersonation fraud
While the underlying goal is always financial theft, scammers adapt their fake identities to target different victims and industries.
Bank Fraud Teams
Callers claiming to be from your bank's fraud department, urging you to move funds to a supposedly secure account.
Police & HMRC Scams
Fake authorities threatening arrest or demanding immediate tax payments via untraceable methods like gift cards.
CEO & Vendor Fraud
Spoofed emails or calls from executives instructing finance teams to execute urgent, high-value wire transfers.
Tech Support Scams
Fraudsters posing as Microsoft or Apple support, convincing victims to grant remote access to their devices.
Our Approach
Our Recovery Process
Document
We preserve the call records, messages, and bank-app screenshots that build the complaint.
Assess
We identify the bank's failures around CoP, fraud-pattern detection, and customer protection.
Pursue
We file CRM, PSR, and FOS complaints to compel reimbursement.
Recover
We secure your refund and pursue any losses above the statutory cap separately.
Legal Authority
We leverage UK financial regulations
Even when the deception is highly convincing, the banking system's safeguards and regulatory frameworks remain your strongest tool for recovery. We hold institutions accountable.
PSR Mandatory Reimbursement
Under the new Payment Systems Regulator mandate, banks must reimburse victims of authorised push payment fraud, including impersonation scams, up to £85,000 per claim.
Confirmation of Payee (CoP) Failures
If the name on the receiving account did not match the payee name and the bank failed to warn you or block the transaction, they may be liable for negligence.
Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
If your bank unfairly rejects your claim by citing "customer negligence", we escalate the dispute to the FOS, which routinely overturns these decisions in favour of the victim.
The "Safe Account" Playbook
The most damaging impersonation scam is the safe account attack. The criminal, posing as your bank or the police, convinces you that fraud is in progress on your account and that funds must be moved for safety. The destination is of course controlled by the fraudster. Sophisticated variants involve spoofed caller ID and even fake crime reference numbers.
Why You Are Entitled To A Refund
The whole structure of impersonation fraud is to deceive victims into authorising payments. Both the CRM Code and the new PSR mandatory reimbursement rules recognise this and require banks to refund blameless victims, generally up to £85,000 per claim. Banks frequently refuse on first request. We challenge those refusals through formal complaints and FOS escalation.
£42,000 Recovered After "Police" Safe Account Scam
Our client received a call from a spoofed number appearing to be the local police station. The caller convinced them their identity was being used in a money laundering ring and instructed them to withdraw £42,000 and transfer it to a "secure investigation account". The bank initially rejected the refund claim, arguing the client had ignored the in-app warning. We intervened by gathering evidence showing the warning was generic and failed to identify the specific scam. We escalated the case to the FOS, which ruled the bank's fraud controls were inadequate and forced a full reimbursement.
Tricked by a fake bank or police call?
Speak with our specialists today for a free, confidential consultation.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually not. The threshold for gross negligence is high, and banks routinely overstate it. We challenge these refusals successfully every week.
This is a common feature of safe account scams. It does not weaken your claim. The loss occurred when the funds left for the fraudster.
You should report to Action Fraud, but criminal investigation is rare. Our work is the civil recovery route, which is much more likely to return your money.
Take Action Today
Affected by an impersonation scam?
Our team of expert fraud lawyers can help you recover your lost funds and hold the banks accountable.