Banks repeatedly warn their clients, on multiple platforms, never to divulge the so-called “keys to their safe” to anyone, and that if they do suffer losses after doing so, they will not be reimbursed. Even if you are forced to do so at gunpoint after being kidnapped, your bank can refuse to take responsibility for that “contact crime”.
I first put that question to then Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS) Reana Steyn last year, on hearing from a few victims of this horrendous crime. (Steyn is now head ombud with the recently established National Financial Ombud (NFO) Scheme, comprising banking, credit and insurance divisions.) Steyn said the OBS’s starting point when dealing with such complaints is that a bank customer is liable for all transactions that take place with the use of their confidential access banking details...
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