Bank card fraud: what to do if you are a victim?

If this is not the case, the bank is liable. It is then up to them to correct their error. Furthermore, this process allows you to benefit from the cancellation of suspicious direct debits already made. Once the opposition has been properly filed, the bank must reimburse the amounts unduly withdrawn, including the bank fees generated by the criminal direct debits.

Good to know: The victim of the scam has thirteen months to request a refund of the fraudulently withdrawn amounts. However, if the suspicious payment was made outside the European Union, this deadline is reduced to seventy days . Beyond these deadlines, the bank is not obliged to consider its customer's refund request.

“If the secret code has not been used, the refund is full.”

For fraudulent transactions detected before the objection, the level of reimbursement varies depending on whether or not the secret code was used. Thus, if the secret code has not been used, the reimbursement is full, regardless of the amounts involved.

However, if the fraudster uses the PIN, the cardholder is subject to a €50 deductible since January 13, 2018 (compared to €150 previously). Please note: the bank has the option of refusing to reimburse fraudulent direct debits made before and even after the opposition in the event of fault or negligence on the part of the cardholder (absence of the cardholder's signature on the back of the card, opposition too late, PIN written on the card, for example). However, it is up to the bank to provide proof of any negligence on the part of the customer.

"If the banking establishment is reluctant to honor its commitments, it is appropriate to contact the banking mediator."

It should also be noted that the financial institution must fully reimburse the amounts unduly withdrawn if the theft could not be detected before the fraudulent use of the card. The texts stipulate that the bank is required to reimburse immediately but, in practice, average reimbursement times vary from one week to more than a month , depending on the complexity of the case.