Bunq did not offer compensation to all victims, lawyer says

The online bank Bunq has not yet offered compensation to all customers who have been victims of phishing or technical support fraud. This is according to lawyer Chizki Loonstein, who could file a lawsuit against the online bank with lawyers on behalf of dozens of victims.

NOS and NRC discovered the fraud at the end of May. Dozens of affected customers lost up to 200,000 euros in minutes due to a combination of phishing and technical support fraud. The fraudsters posed as bank employees and pressured customers into sharing their login details or transferring money. TV channels reported that this happened only because the online bank did not take the security measures usual in other banks.

Bunq announced Friday that it would compensate all customers who were defrauded and that they would receive an average of 85 percent of the money lost. Loonstein estimates that ten to twenty clients who have contacted lawyers have yet to hear from the bank. “No more than a handful” will be refunded in full. This mainly concerns smaller amounts. These victims have not yet received any money. The bank is offering the rest, more than a hundred people, according to the lawyer, well less than 85 percent of the money lost.

According to him, the online bank does not specify how it determines what part of the damage customers will be reimbursed. He claims that people who turned to lawyers lost millions of euros. This amount may increase and Loonstein still hears about new cases of fraud.

NOS and NRC spoke to 28 Bunq customers who were scammed in the last seven months. Together, they lost more than 1.6 million euros, or an average of almost 60,000 euros per customer, depending on the chains.

Many victims and lawyers want full compensation. On Saturday, the lawyers asked Bunq to discuss a solution together. If that doesn’t happen, lawyers will go to court soon, according to Loonstein.

Bunq says he will respond later. CEO Ali Niknam did not want to say on Friday how many victims Bunq will compensate and what the total amount of damage is.