The Banking Protocol is a UK-wide scheme, developed by UK Finance, National Trading Standards and local police forces. Branch staff are trained to spot the warning signs that suggest a customer may be falling victim to a scam, before alerting their local police force to intervene and investigate.The latest figures show that branch staff made 10,072 Banking Protocol calls to the police during 2021.
The scheme led to the arrest of 162 suspected criminals last year, bringing the total number of arrests to 1,005 since the protocol began. Branch staff at banks, building societies and Post Offices have worked with the police to stop £202.8 million of fraud through the response scheme since it launched in 2016, according to the latest figures from UK Finance. Last year £60.7 million was
stopped through the scheme, 34 per cent more than in 2020.
To build on the success of the scheme, banks and building societies are continuing to work with local police forces on expanding the process to cover attempted bank transfers made by customers through telephone and online banking. So far, 42 out of 45 police forces across the UK are signed up to the enhanced scheme. Staff working in call centres and in online banking teams notify the police when attempted bank transfers are being made which they believe may be the result of a scam.
Customers using telephone or online banking are first asked by the bank or building society to visit their local branch to enable branch staff to carry out additional checks and use the Banking Protocol if necessary. However, if the customer is unable to visit their branch, for example if they are vulnerable or have a disability, staff would be able to directly alert the local police who will make a visit to the customer’s home and assess whether they have fallen victim to a scam.
