A Fraudulent Transaction - Who Pays When Money Leaves Your Card Without Your Consent
For an unauthorised transaction the general logic of the law is simple: a payment the customer did not authorise must be refunded by the bank - unless the bank proves gross negligence or fraud on the customer's part. In practice the entire dispute turns on that threshold: where ordinary carelessness ends (which does not relieve the bank) and gross negligence begins - for instance, where someone dictated a one-time code to a stranger themselves.
This page sets out what must be done in the first hours and how the dispute then unfolds: which types of fraud are common (phishing, "bank employee" calls, SIM swap, card data theft), how liability is allocated and what the bank examines, within what time you must notify and which documents to create, how the bank's internal investigation and a complaint to the National Bank work, and separately what to do when a loan or card was fraudulently taken out in your name. Blocked accounts and loan disputes have their own pages.
Five Typical Scenarios and Where Liability Falls
Liability depends on what the customer did and what security the bank had in place - both are examined separately.
Getting the Money Back - From the First Hour to Court
The first hours: block the card and three documents
Block the card on the bank's hotline (noting the time of the call), send a written notice to the bank the same day listing the transactions, and file a police report. Those three documents and their timing shape the whole dispute - the bank checks the time of notification first.
Starting the bank's internal review
A written claim demanding a refund, describing what happened, what you did not do (you gave no code, you followed no link) and which transactions are disputed. The bank must register the complaint and answer in writing within the set period; the position recorded in that answer cannot be changed later.
Gathering the evidence
The transaction statement with times and IP addresses, SMS and call records (itemisation from the operator), device data, a copy of the phishing link or fake page, correspondence with the fraudster, witnesses. The lawyer builds this material into a timeline - to the minute, because the bank's defence is precisely about chronology.
Fighting on the gross negligence threshold
The bank usually argues that the customer handed over the data themselves. The lawyer shows the sophistication of the deception (spoofed number, use of the bank's own terminology, pressure and time scarcity), the inaction of the bank's anti-fraud system (an atypical transaction that was not stopped), the absence of warnings, and that the customer did everything required on notification.
Escalation: the National Bank and court
After the bank's refusal - a complaint to the National Bank, whose conclusion is weighty evidence in court; then a claim for the refund and, where appropriate, for damages. The criminal case runs in parallel - the evidence obtained there (recipient accounts, the chain of transactions) is used in the civil dispute too.
Voiding a fake loan and correcting the record
Where a loan was fraudulently taken out in your name: voidness of the loan agreement (handwriting examination, identification log), termination of the claim, deletion of the record at the credit bureau on the creditor's instruction and, on refusal, court proceedings that order the correction and award damages.
"You Gave the Code Yourself" - Where the Customer's Fault Ends and the Bank's Liability Begins
The centre of every fraudulent transaction dispute is one question: was the customer's conduct gross negligence. The bank's standard argument is short - "the code is confidential and you disclosed it". But modern fraud is built precisely on deceiving the customer: the call comes from the bank's genuine number (spoofing), the caller names you, the last digits of your card and your last transaction, and the conversation runs under time pressure with the logic of "saving your money". In those conditions an ordinary reasonable person's mistake is not automatically gross negligence - and that is exactly what the lawyer argues.
The other side is the bank's own obligations: an anti-fraud system that should stop an atypical transaction (at night, in a foreign country, for an unusual amount, from a new device), a requirement for additional confirmation, warnings, and speed of reaction after notification. If ten transactions to different recipients left the account within twenty minutes and the system stopped nothing, that is a failure on the bank's side and an argument for reallocating liability.
The third factor is time: how quickly the customer notified and how quickly the bank acted. Prompt notification often makes it possible to stop part of the money or recover it from the receiving bank; delay is the bank's main argument to the contrary. That is why the lawyer's first advice is always the same: first the call and the block, then a written notice the same day, then the police - and only afterwards the emotions and the search for who is to blame.
What a Fraudulent Transaction Case Rests On
- Unauthorised transaction
- A payment the customer did not consent to or that was not confirmed in the prescribed way; as a general rule the sum is refunded to the customer unless the bank proves otherwise.
- Gross negligence
- The threshold that relieves the bank of liability - for example, deliberately handing a PIN or one-time code to a third party. The burden of proof lies on the bank and is assessed individually in each case.
- Immediate notification
- The customer must notify the bank as soon as they notice the transaction; the time of notification is decisive in allocating liability and must be recorded in writing, not only by telephone.
- The bank's security obligations
- Authentication tools, anti-fraud monitoring, stopping atypical transactions and informing the customer; a failure in those obligations puts liability on the bank even where the customer made a mistake.
- Deadline for handling a complaint
- The bank must register a customer's complaint and reply in writing within the period set by regulation; leaving it unanswered or a formulaic reply is a ground for a complaint to the National Bank.
- A forged agreement
- A loan or card taken out by someone else in your name is not a genuine agreement; the claim is void and the credit bureau record is corrected on the creditor's instruction.
What to Do Immediately - the Sequence That Decides the Dispute
- Block the card and internet banking by calling the hotline; note or record the exact time of the call and the operator's name.
- Send a written notice to the bank the same day (at a branch or electronically) listing the disputed transactions with dates and times.
- File a police report about the fraud, listing the transactions and the fraudster's numbers or links.
- Screenshots: SMS messages, call log, the link or site, correspondence, the bank app's notifications - before they are deleted.
- Ask the mobile operator about any SIM change if codes did not arrive or the number was cut off - that is separate evidence.
- Confirm nothing to the bank on the phone ("did you make this transaction?") - record your position only in writing.
Three Fraudulent Transaction Cases
A "security service" call and nine transactions
A pensioner was called from the bank's genuine number, told of a "suspicious transaction" and talked into giving the codes; within 20 minutes nine transfers left the account to different recipients. The lawyer: call itemisation from the operator (evidence of number spoofing), the inaction of the anti-fraud system (nine atypical transactions not stopped), immediate notification and the police file. After a complaint to the National Bank the bank refunded most of the money.
A SIM swap and internet banking
The customer's number was fraudulently transferred to a new SIM at the operator; using the SMS codes the fraudster logged into internet banking and withdrew the funds. The lawyer: proof that the operator breached its identification procedure (the number was restored on a forged document), claims against both the bank and the operator, and a parallel criminal case. The bank refunded the money and a separate settlement was reached with the operator.
A loan a fraudster took out in your name
A microfinance company issued an online loan using stolen ID data; the client learned of the debt from their credit history. The lawyer: obtaining the agreement and identification log, analysing the handwriting and IP data, a police report, and a demand to delete the record. The company cancelled the debt and removed the entry; the credit history was restored and the block on a new loan lifted.
Questions About Fraudulent Transactions
I gave the code myself. Does that mean the bank will refund nothing?
Not necessarily. The bank has to prove that this was gross negligence - and that assessment depends on the circumstances: whether the call came from the bank's own number, how convincing the deception was, how quickly you notified and, crucially, what the bank's anti-fraud system did. Many cases are won precisely on the inaction of the bank's systems, even where a code was disclosed.
How quickly must I notify the bank?
Immediately, as soon as you notice - first by phone to block, then in writing the same day. Time matters twice over in these cases: technically, prompt notification sometimes allows part of the money to be stopped; legally, it neutralises the bank's main argument ("you told us late"). A phone call alone is not enough - a written trail is essential.
Do I need a police report if my dispute is with the bank?
Yes: first, it is independent evidence that you did not make the transaction; second, the criminal case produces evidence (recipient accounts, the chain of transactions, technical data) that is used in the civil dispute; third, the bank and the National Bank take the existence of a police file seriously. The lawyer drafts the report so that it lists the transactions in full.
The bank refused me. What is the next step?
Two parallel steps: a complaint to the National Bank (consumer rights protection), which requires the bank to explain and produce documents, and preparation of a court claim for the refund. The National Bank's conclusion is weighty evidence in court, and the fact of the complaint alone often changes the bank's position. The lawyer prepares both at once so that no time is lost.
A loan was taken out in my name that I never received. What do I do?
First - a police report and a written claim to the creditor demanding the agreement and the identification data; then a handwriting examination or analysis of the online identification log, a demand that the loan be declared void and the credit bureau record deleted. Importantly: pay nothing "until it is sorted out" - even a partial payment may be treated as acknowledgement of the debt.
Lawyers for Fraudulent Transaction Cases
In these cases everything is decided in the first hours and in a chronology recorded in writing. Within 15 minutes the coordinator connects you with a lawyer who handles unauthorised transaction cases with banks and the National Bank.
No published lawyers in this category yet
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Call: 568 330 318Has Money Left Your Card Without Your Consent?
At a free consultation the lawyer tells you what to do today, how to frame the claim to the bank and which arguments work against an allegation of gross negligence. The coordinator calls within 15 minutes - the earlier, the better the chances.