John-Erik Johansson was cheated of SEK 100,000.
But Nordea refused him to get his money back – and now has The Consumer Ombudsman submitted a unique lawsuit against the bank.
– It is extremely elaborate, says Kristofer Johannesson, deputy consumer ombudsman.
In January, John-Erik Johansson received a call that cost him dearly.
The caller claimed to be from a debt collection company and said that John-Erik Johansson had a debt of SEK 18,000. They claimed that John-Erik Johansson was the victim of identity theft. When he was then connected to “Nordea’s security department”, they said that he had been robbed of another SEK 100,000.
– I went in and looked and saw that everything looked completely normal on my account. So I thought about what had happened. But then they said they blacked out the transaction.
Swished SEK 100,000 to the fraudster
To get the money back, John-Erik had to swipe the same amount. He raised his limit to be able to do so – but the money never showed up.
When Nordea refused to give him his 100,000 kroner, he contacted the Consumer Ombudsman (KO).
– This consumer has not been able to defend himself against this barrage of trust-inducing claims that the fraudster has made. It is extremely elaborate, says Kristofer Johannesson, deputy consumer ombudsman.
The verdict can be indicative
A ruling could become a guideline for banks’ responsibility to protect customers from being exposed to this type of common and elaborate telephone fraud.
According to Kristofer Johannesson, Nordea should have managed to perceive the transaction as deviant behavior and contacted John-Erik Johansson. Now he hopes that Nordea will be forced to change its routines.
– That you cannot raise this amount limit without contacting the bank yourself first. You shouldn’t be able to do it online, says John-Erik Johansson.
Nordea has not wanted to appear for an interview. In an email, they reply that the bank “welcomes legal practice to be tested and that they always follow the practice and recommendations of the General Complaints Board”.