[DanBC]

...and banks will only compensate if they really have to because there are laws compelling them to do so. If they can get away with saying it's your fault they will.

While I have sympathy for the author it was a pretty silly thing to do.

[mootothemax]

...and banks will only compensate if they really have to because there are laws compelling them to do so. If they can get away with saying it's your fault they will.

Agreed, the banks aren't doing it from the goodness of their heart.

While I have sympathy for the author it was a pretty silly thing to do.

And in the real world, if you gave someone your card and PIN, the bank would be unlikely to compensate you.

I think that this example is more similar to falling victim to card skimming, though.

Whilst one should always check the ATM for suspicious devices, and never let the card leave one's sight, it doesn't mean that it's not easy to fall prey to such fraud all the same.

[danielweber]

"Federal Reserve Regulation E guarantees that US consumers are made whole when their bank passwords are stolen"

From http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id=1618...

Of course, as that paper points out, the traditional electronic money system is incredibly reversible. If someone transfers $50,000 from my personal bank account to someone else's bank account, it's pretty easy for it to be undone.

The bottleneck is the money mules who are hired (read: suckered) into engaging in irreversible transactions.

[salvadors]

> If someone transfers $50,000 from my personal bank account to someone else's bank account, it's pretty easy for it to be undone.

That depends on the timeframe. Once the money has been moved out of that new account again things start getting much harder.

[jeremyjh]

Not really. If a Bank gets a reversal before funds have cleared its pretty straightforward and the stack will almost unwind itself as each Bank reverses credits to the accounts in response to reversals before them. Depending on type of transfer yes there is a date beyond which reversals are not possible but the number of transfers has little to do with it.

[danielweber]

Thieves want to work to empty that new account as fast as possible. And they still can't without suckers who volunteer to run a "check-cashing business" or similar scam.

Because banks are held responsible for fraud (from consumer accounts), they work hard to never be the ones holding the bag, so they put up roadblocks in attempts to engage in irreversible transactions. If you say "hey, I opened my account yesterday, now I want to withdraw the $40,000 that just showed up in it, 10's and 20's please" they will nod politely and call a bank manager.

[rodgerd]

No, banks will compensate you if they feel that the reputational damage of not doing so is worse than than the financial damage of doing so.