Zelensky’s success – “a historic step”

With the recent spotlight on phone scammers particularly duping older people out of large sums of money, pressure has increased on banks to act.

Banks bear a great responsibility in preventing crime and protecting their customers. Banks can and should do more and cooperate more closely with the police, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) stressed on Instagram a few days ago after contacting the major banks.

Their grandchildren may not rustle

Among other things, it was pointed out that banks should act to a greater extent when a customer makes a deviant transfer – which may indicate that the customer has been deceived.

But the result now is that banks are preventing many retirees from paying their installments of their own free will.

One of many examples is a woman in her 80s who was blocked by her bank when she wanted to donate birthday money to her grandson.

She was a loyal customer of the bank. For her, it feels like a social collapse, where she is not trusted and is not allowed to do banking, her son Boras Tidenning told her.

You must visit the bank on site

The son says the stop made his mother feel helpless and exhausted.

She also had to go to the bank to solve the problem – despite being over 80 years old, ill and unable to leave her home.

The local PRO association is disappointed and calls it a “dilemma.” A bank must protect its customers, but it must be possible to do “everyday banking.”

The bank confirms

Victor Frieden, marketing and communications manager at local bank Sparbanken Sjuhärad, emphasizes that the measures sometimes affect people who carry out normal banking transactions and are not victims of crime.

At the same time, he defends the regime.

The goal is never to make things difficult for the client, but rather to protect them. He told BT: It is better to have the account temporarily blocked, rather than having the account emptied of funds by criminals.

The law can be changed

Ulf Christerson does not rule out that there will be talk about changes in the law to stop fraud.

Every year it costs society billions of dollars.

– The Prime Minister said in a press conference on Tuesday: – First of all, we want to search for technical solutions that increase protection for the elderly in particular.

Image: B. McDonald

Text: Editors