UK Police Chief Calls Out ‘Lax’ Online Fraud Victims

U.K. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe is taking a firm stance on how victims of online fraud should be compensated by banks. His opinion is that it shouldn’t happen at all.

According to International Business Times, Hogan-Howe explained that when banks refund fraud victims, it only “rewards” the public for not having a stronger position on cybersecurity.

Rather than providing reimbursements, he said people need incentives to step up their personal cybersecurity practices and behaviors, such as using antivirus measures and keeping passwords strong, IBT reported on Thursday (March 24).

“If you are continually rewarded for bad behavior, you will probably continue to do it, but if the obverse is true, you might consider changing behavior,” he explained to The Times. “At the moment, I would argue that there is no incentive for you to do anything to protect yourself or update your software, so if you get your card hiked in one way or another, you get your money back.”

The commissioner added: “To be fair to the banks, if one says they’ll do it and the others don’t, that’s a competitive advantage. The system is not incentivizing you to protect yourself. If someone said to you, ‘If you’ve not updated your software, I will give you half back,’ you would do it.”

However, the U.K. Metropolitan Police posted its own statement in a response to reactions to Hogan-Howe’s viewpoints, urging that it is “wrong” to interpret his comments as “a proposal that fraud victims should not be compensated.”

The Met explained: “The commissioner’s comments have been reported fairly in the Times article. He made it clear that, in line with traditional crimes, prevention is essential, and we all have a responsibility to stop criminal behavior. His comments focused on consumers who don’t take basic precautions, such as adequate password precaution and security measures — not a blanket proposal for all online fraud victims. It has a parallel to insurance companies who do not pay out on claims if the front door is not secure or car left unlocked. To suggest otherwise is misleading.”