A Belgian court has ordered a bank to immediately reimburse nearly €50,000 to an elderly couple who lost their savings in a phishing scam, in a decision that could significantly change how banks deal with fraud victims.
According to L'Echo, the ruling concerns a couple aged 90 and 93 who were tricked by fraudsters posing as bank employees. After being manipulated over the phone, they transferred a total of €49,958 to a Portuguese bank account.
The bank refused to compensate the victims, arguing that they had personally authorised the transfers and had therefore acted negligently. However, an Antwerp judge ruled on 26 May that the bank must first reimburse the disputed amount. If the bank believes the customers were negligent, it can subsequently initiate legal proceedings to recover the funds.
Minister questions banks' approach
The ruling comes amid growing political scrutiny of the way financial institutions handle phishing cases.
Belgian Consumer Protection Minister Rob Beenders (Vooruit) recently criticised banks for what he described as an almost systematic refusal to reimburse victims of fraud. Responding to a parliamentary question in late May, he argued that such an approach was not in line with the intention of the law.
"I clearly confirm that the principle of the law remains: first reimburse, then discuss responsibility on the basis of a serious investigation conducted by the bank," the minister said at the Federal Parliament.
Beenders also stressed that the use of a PIN code or the Belgian digital identification app itsme does not automatically prove that a customer consented to a transaction, particularly in phishing cases where such credentials may have been obtained fraudulently.
