The objects of complaints in the banking sector, most often, are employees of credit institutions. However, with the growing popularity of non-cash payments, cases of fraud with the use of bank cards have become more frequent. Having fallen into the trap of swindlers, their victims sooner or later start looking for ways to get their money back and bring the fraudsters to justice. What role does the bank play in this situation and is it possible to somehow remedy the situation with the help of a complaint sent to a financial institution?
Fraud of bank card holders
Sberbank cards popular in Russia are used by both law-abiding citizens and fraudsters. They find their potential victims, as a rule, on the Internet on ad services, through groups in social networks and fly-by-night sites. A person is offered any service or product at an attractive price. Sometimes money luring takes place under the guise of a charitable organization or a request for targeted assistance to a specific person in a difficult life situation.
In any case, the fact that the victim voluntarily transfers his funds to the fraudster's card remains unchanged. As a consequence, the root of the problem lies in unjustified trust in strangers. Only standard advice can help here: use trusted sites, give preference to face-to-face meetings when it comes to deals on ads, read reviews on the Internet on similar topics.
When the fact of fraud becomes known, it is time to look for the culprits and try to get your money back. If nothing is known about the culprit, except for a bank card or phone number, it will be difficult to find him.
How to complain about a client of Sberbank or another bank
Complaining about an unscrupulous client of Sberbank or another bank is actually useless, since financial institutions have limited powers on these issues. They are not allowed to disclose the personal data of the account holders to others. And they can only at the request of the applicant transfer his appeal for a voluntary refund of funds to the card holder.
The bank also has no right to cancel the payment made by the client if the money has already been credited to the beneficiary's account. Previously, such operations took hours and even days, during which it was possible to change your mind and withdraw your funds, but now transfers from card to card are carried out almost instantly. However, if you find the fraud quickly enough, you should try to cancel the transaction by calling your bank's hotline. For Sberbank, these are round-the-clock numbers 900 (for Russia) or + 7-495-500-55-50 (worldwide). Information on other banks can be found on the back of the plastic card.
The support service specialist will ask you to name your personal information, card number or a code word, just intended for remote identification. Further, the bank employee, upon the client's request, will determine whether it is possible to cancel the money transfer.
If the payment has reached the addressee, the return of money and the punishment of the fraudster still need to be started by contacting the office of your bank. For this, a claim is written to cancel the erroneous transaction addressed to the head of the branch. The application must indicate the date, the amount of the payment, the number of your bank account, and as evidence is attached a check from an ATM or personal account of Sberbank Online (or another bank). The document is drawn up in two copies, registered by an employee of a financial institution with the date and number.
It is possible to effectively complain about a Sberbank client who has committed fraud only with the involvement of the police. An application for a refund is considered by the bank, on average, from 10 to 30 working days, but this is not a reason to do nothing. The chances of a voluntary transfer of money in such cases are minimal, and a forced refund is possible only by court.
Reporting to the police and court
The police write a statement about the fraudulent actions that have taken place, all bank documents and checks are attached, information about the offender (phone or card number) is indicated. In order for the decision to initiate a criminal case to be positive, proof is required: screenshots of correspondence, pages of a website or a group on a social network, voice recordings of conversations.
Based on the information received, the police establish the identity of the cardholder and make a decision to bring him to criminal liability. At the request of law enforcement agencies, Sberbank, like any other bank, is obliged to provide personal data of its customers.
In turn, the victim, having received detailed information about the fraudster, can sue him with a demand for a refund. At the same time, the initiation of a criminal case is not a prerequisite. They act according to a similar scheme if money was accidentally sent to the wrong account, and its owner does not want to return it voluntarily. The history of requests and responses of the credit institution is attached to the claim addressed to the unscrupulous client of the bank, as well as the circumstances of the misappropriation of other people's funds by another person.
During the trial, the assistance of a qualified lawyer is likely to be required, which is associated with additional costs. And it will take more than one month to wait for the end of the process. This is not always justified if the amount returned does not exceed the legal costs. However, in cases when it comes to significant financial losses, it is certainly worth complaining and fighting for justice.
