If you’re a victim of an “Authorised Push Payment” (APP) scam from your Zing account, we’re here to help. This page gives you the key information you need to know about when and how you can claim your money back from us. These FAQs may be updated from time to time, so do be sure to check back for the latest information.
What is an APP scam?
An APP scam is when a scammer tricks you into making a payment to someone else’s account outside of your control. New industry-wide rules apply to APP scams when the scammer has pretended to be someone else, or has tricked you about the reason for the payment.
How can I protect myself against APP scams?
Take Five, an awareness campaign led by UK Finance, offers straightforward and impartial advice to help everyone protect themselves against financial crime.
- STOP: Take a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information. It could keep you safe.
- CHALLENGE: Ask yourself, could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
- PROTECT: Contact your account provider immediately if you think you’ve been scammed and report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or on 0330 123 2040. You can get in touch with ZingCare 24/7 via our in-app messaging service or by emailing support@zing.me.
Remember:
- A genuine account provider will never contact you to ask for your PIN, your full password, a one time password (OTP) or ask you to move money to another account to keep it ‘safe’.
- Don’t be tricked into giving a fraudster access to your personal or financial details.
- To look out for scammers trying to impersonate legitimate companies (such as delivery companies, online retailers, high street stores, supermarkets etc).
- Be careful about clicking on a link or opening an attachment in an unexpected email or text.
- People on dating apps and websites aren’t always who they claim to be, and could be seeking to earn your trust to get you to send them money.
- Always question unexpected approaches in case it’s a scam. If in doubt, contact the company directly using a known email or phone number (if in doubt, use an internet search engine like Google to find the right contact details).
For more information, visit Take Five.
What can I do if I think I’ve been a victim of an APP scam?
If you think that you have been a victim of an APP scam, it is very important that you tell us straight away as you might be able to claim your money back. Details of what you can and can’t claim are in these FAQs below.
You can get in touch with ZingCare 24/7 via our in-app messaging service or by emailing support@zing.me. If you haven’t done so already, we may also ask you to contact the police.
What can I claim back if I am a victim of an APP scam?
At Zing, the new rules will apply to GBP payments from the Zing app to a GBP account in the UK. They do not cover other types of payments, for example those made in a foreign currency.
The rules cover you up to £85,000 for a single claim, which could be for a single payment or a series of payments made as part of the same scam.
An excess of £100 may be deducted from your claim, and if your claim is less than £100 you may not get your money back.
There are some limitations on when you can claim, these are summarised below.
What payments are not covered by the new rules?
Not all payments fall under the new rules. For example, you can’t claim back any:
- payments made using your Zing card (including your virtual Zing card),
- payments made by Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or any similar method,
- payments in currencies other than GBP,
- payments made to overseas accounts,
- payments made to accounts you control (e.g. an account in your name at another financial institution, or a joint account),
- payments you didn’t authorise,
- payments where there’s a genuine legal dispute between you and the person you paid, or
- payments where we reasonably believe that you have been acting fraudulently.
The new rules don’t apply to payments made before the 7th of October 2024. They also don’t apply where you have not made your claim within 13 months of the last payment you made to the scammer.
There are some more exclusions which relate to your own behaviour, which are explained in the FAQ below: ‘What other reasons might mean my claim is denied?’
If you think you’re a victim of another kind of fraud (such as card fraud) or you’d like to query a transaction that has been made via your Zing card, please read our article on how to report a fraudulent card transaction.
What other reasons might mean my claim is denied?
We might not repay you in certain circumstances, such as if we believe that you acted fraudulently or with gross negligence. This could include where you:
- ignored warnings from us or an authority like the police that a payment might be an APP scam,
- didn’t make a claim as soon as you could have done,
- failed to provide important information regarding your claim, or didn’t send us the information as soon as you could have done; or
- don’t report the scam to the police or another authority if we ask you to.
It’s important that you tell us if there are any special circumstances that might apply to your case - for example why you might have delayed reporting the scam - as this might affect the outcome of your claim.
What else should I think about when making an APP scam claim?
So we can help you as quickly as possible, you’ll need to gather some information to support your claim. You can find the information we need within our article on I think I’ve been a victim of fraud or a scam, what do I do?
It is important that you contact us as soon as you’re aware or suspect that you’re a victim of a scam. Where necessary, we may share relevant information you provide to us with other account providers and the police.
How will you process my claim?
Every claim is reviewed individually. We consider all of the information provided by you, the account provider that received the payment, and where relevant, a third party such as the police.
If you submit a claim, we’ll let you know the outcome as soon as we can. We’ll let you know if we need any more information and keep you up to date with the progress of your claim.
We’ll aim to pay any amounts due within 5 working days of the claim being raised, unless we need additional time to look into your claim. If that happens, we will aim to make a final decision no later than 35 working days after you raised the claim.
What do I do if I don’t agree with the outcome of my claim?
If you don’t agree with the outcome of your claim, you have the right to raise a complaint. For details on how to make a complaint, your rights and the process, please take a look at our article on making a complaint.