Bunq has not offered compensation to all victims, lawyer says

Online bank Bunq has not yet offered compensation to all customers who have fallen victim to phishing or helpdesk fraud. This is what lawyer Chizki Loonstein says, who may start a lawsuit against the online bank with lawyers on behalf of dozens of victims.

NOS and NRC discovered the fraud in late May. Dozens of affected customers lost up to 200,000 euros within minutes due to a combination of phishing and helpdesk fraud. Scammers posed as bank employees and pressured customers to share their login details or transfer money. The broadcasters reported that this only happened because the online bank did not take the security measures common at other banks.

Bunq reported on Friday that it would compensate all customers who had fallen victim to fraud and that they would receive an average of 85 percent of the lost money back. Loonstein estimates that ten to twenty customers who have reported to the lawyers have not yet heard anything from the bank. "No more than a handful" will be reimbursed the full amount. This mainly concerns smaller amounts. These victims would not have received any money yet. The bank offers the rest, more than a hundred people, according to the lawyer, much less than 85 percent of the lost money.

According to him, the online bank does not report how it determines what part of the damage customers will be reimbursed. He says that people who reported to the lawyers have lost millions of euros. This amount can increase and Loonstein still hears of new fraud cases.

NOS and NRC talked to 28 Bunq customers who were scammed in the past seven months. Together, they lost more than 1.6 million euros, an average of almost 60,000 euros per customer, according to the broadcasters.

Many victims and lawyers want full compensation. On Saturday, the lawyers asked Bunq to discuss a solution together. If this does not happen, the lawyers will soon go to court, according to Loonstein.

Bunq says it 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.