PvdA: banks must always return money after cybercrime

Government party PvdA wants consumers who fall victim to digital bank fraud to get their money back as standard. As far as the party is concerned, that happens even if users have no security software installed.

As far as PvdA Member of Parliament Henk Nijboer is concerned, there will be a legal regulation that obliges banks to always give users their money back if they have fallen victim to bank fraud. That writes the AD. Now it is examined on a case-by-case basis whether users get their money back, although in most cases the banks reimburse affected customers for the missing amount out of leniency.

However, Nijboer does not think the current rules are clear enough. As far as the Member of Parliament is concerned, the damage is even compensated when users do not have a virus scanner or firewall. “I don’t think that’s sufficient reason. Only when a consumer is blatantly negligent and offered his data on a silver platter, will that change,” said the parliamentarian. In many cases, bank fraud is committed via phishing or placing malware.

The member of parliament also wants a compensation scheme for payment transactions. If banks suffer from disruptions for a long time and consumers and shops suffer damage as a result, they should be compensated for that damage, he believes. Nijboer will present his plans during a roundtable session in the House of Representatives on online payments. It is held in response to the recent bank failures.