If there is a fraudulent transaction on your debit card, you are generally entitled to a refund. This is a case of money stolen from your bank account, and banks have clear policies and guidelines to follow to return that money to you.
However, if you're wondering "can I get money back from an incorrect bank transfer?", then the situation becomes a little more complicated.
Here's the difference between the 2, and the steps involved in trying to recover your money.
Most debit cards come with a zero liability guarantee, which protects consumers against fraudulent transactions. Every card provider has a different criteria outlining what you can claim.
According to the Financial Rights Legal Centre, as a general rule, you are not liable for unauthorised transactions. Putting in a claim with your bank does not guarantee a refund, and a refund may be voided if you contributed towards the loss, for instance by sharing your Internet banking password with someone who then made an unauthorised transaction.
Regardless of your circumstances, these are the steps to take if you have had money taken from your bank account without permission:
Step 1. Contact your bank to block the transactionIf you spot a fraudulent transaction that has been made from your bank account, contact your bank immediately. It may be able to prevent further withdrawals. Note that if any disputed transactions are still in "pending" mode, they will generally need to be fully processed before your bank can initiate a dispute on your behalf. This can take 3 to 5 business days to process a transaction, or even up to 10 business days.
Step 2. Make a claim If the transaction has been processed, your bank will be able to tell you the next steps to make a claim and try to get the money back, based on its own specific policies and procedures.
Step 3. Freeze your debit cardIf someone has unauthorised access to your card or your card details, you need to prevent them from making any further transactions. Most banks will require you to cancel your card to protect your account from further fraudulent activity. Your bank will send you a new card, but this may impact any direct debits and auto-payments. You can do this in your mobile banking app, via Internet banking or by calling your bank.
Debit card providers often monitor transactions conducted on debit cards, using algorithms to help them establish a spending pattern for your particular card.
This allows them to identify transactions that seem out of place (for instance, transactions that take place in another city or country).
They can often prevent fraudulent transactions by calling you to confirm the payment. If you have no knowledge of the transaction, it will not be approved and any money removed from your account will be refunded.
While this is comforting, as the account holder, the onus is on you to monitor your account and ensure your credentials have not been compromised.
| Response | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| No - I have never experienced card fraud | 59.31% | 57.33% |
| Yes - on my credit card | 24.48% | 27.26% |
| Yes - on my debit card | 12.76% | 11.09% |
| Yes - on both a debit card and a credit card | 3.45% | 4.32% |
A transaction that is made on your debit or credit card without your authorisation is a fraudulent transaction. This may include cards that are lost or stolen, fake, not received, or fraudulent as decided by a card company.
This is not the same thing as a dispute with a seller.
A fraudulent transaction is any transaction where the card was not used for its original intention, whereas a dispute refers to any transaction where the seller and the buyer disagree on an issue, such as the item not being the one the buyer purchased, or the price being different to what was agreed originally.
In the case of a dispute, your bank may still be able to assist you with getting your money back if:
Before you contact the bank, you need to identify whether this is genuinely an unauthorised or fraudulent transaction or not. Consider the following:
If you run through this process and you're still certain you've been scammed, contact your bank immediately to alert them to the issue and cancel your account.
Unfortunately, if you've given out your personal details to a scammer and this has contributed to your financial loss, the ACCC advises you're unlikely to get your money back. However, you can limit the damage and protect yourself from further loss by recovering your stolen identity, reporting your situation to ScamWatch and changing your online passwords.
This is different to an unauthorised transaction, as you were responsible for the mistaken transfer. The Financial Ombudsman Service Australia explains that if you do enter the wrong account or BSB number, the payment will be made to the wrong account or unintended recipient, which is known as a "mistaken Internet payment".
If you've made a mistaken Internet payment, you may be able to get your money back from an incorrect bank transfer, depending on the timing.
It's crucial that you contact your bank or credit union immediately. They will contact the unintended recipient's bank to try and get the money back.
If you report the mistake:
If the money is still in the other person's bank account and you can prove the money was sent as a genuine mistake (which you can often prove if the account name and number don't match), the process for recovering will commence. This process can take weeks or even months. Even if you report the mistake immediately and you have a right to have the funds returned to you, the unintended recipient may not return the money immediately.
| Financial institution | In Australia | From overseas |
|---|---|---|
| AMP | 1800 033 844 | +61 2 8048 8249 |
| ANZ | N/A | +61 3 8699 6955 |
| Arab Bank Australia | 1800 139 241 | +61 2 9959 7530 |
| Australian Military Bank (ADCU) | 1300 13 23 28 | +61 2 9240 4122 |
| Auswide Bank | 1800 072 111 | +61 2 9959 7884 |
| Bank Australia (bankmecu) | 132 888 | +61 3 9854 4666 |
| Bank of Melbourne | 1800 772 266 | +61 3 9982 4186 |
| Bank of Queensland (BOQ) | 1800 077 024 | +61 7 3336 2222 |
| Bank of Sydney | 1300 888 730 | +61 2 8262 9102 |
| BankSA | 1800 028 208 | +61 2 9553 5233 |
| BankVic | 13 63 73 | +613 9268 9373 |
| Bankwest | 13 17 19 | +61 8 9449 2840 |
| bcu | 1800 621 199 | +61 2 9959 7686 |
| Bendigo Bank | 1800 035 383 | +61 3 5485 7872 |
| Beyond Bank | 1800 648 027 | +61 2 8299 9101 |
| Big Sky | 1300 654 321 | +1 303 967 1090 |
| Border Bank | 131 728 | +61 2 9287 0888 |
| Cairns Penny Savings & Loans Savings | (07) 4031 4460 | N/A |
| Catalyst Money | 1800 648 027 | +61 2 8299 9101 |
| Citi | 13 24 84 | +61 2 8225 0615 |
| Coles | 1800 005 809 | +61 3 9420 4818 |
| Commonwealth Bank | 13 2221 | +61 2 9999 3283 |
| Community First | 1300 13 22 77 | +61 2 9959 7480 |
| CUA | 133 282, 1800 648 027(Visa) or 1300 135 538 (Mastercard) | 1 410 581 99949 (Visa) or 1 636 722 7111 (Mastercard) |
| Defence Bank | 1800 648 027 | +1 443 641 2004 |
| DelphiBank | 1 800 648 027 | +61 2 8299 9101 |
| Easy Street | 1800 648 027 or (02) 9959 7480 | +61 2 9959 7480 |
| ECU Australia | 1800 383 791 or 1800 621 199 | +1 303 967 1090 |
| Endeavour Mutual Bank | 1300 13 14 20 | +61 2 9245 1040 |
| FCCS | 1800 648 027 | N/A |
| First Choice Credit Union | 1800 648 027 | +61 2 8299 9101 |
| First Option Credit Union | 1300 855 675 | +61 3 9869 8700 |
| firstmac | 13 12 20 | +61 7 3017 8888 |
| G&C Mutual | 1300 364 400 | +61 2 9307 5400 |
| Gateway Bank Ltd | 1800 139 241 | +61 2 9307 4200 |
| Greater Building Society | 1300 651 400 | 1-800-450-346 |
| Heritage Bank | 1800 076 037 | +61 7 4694 9139 |
| Horizon Credit Union | 1300 366 565 | +61 2 8299 9101 |
| HSBC Australia | 1300 308 008 | +61 2 9005 8187 |
| Hunter United | 1800 621 199 | +61 2 4941 3888 |
| Illawarra Credit Union | 1800 648 027 | +61 2 8299 9101 |
| IMB | 133 462 | +61 2 4298 0111 |
| ING | 133 464 | +61 2 9028 4077 |
| Intech Credit Union | 1800 648 027 | +61 2 8299 9101 |
| Macquarie Bank | 1300 150 300 | +61 2 8232 1684 |
| Maleny Credit Union | 1800 621 199 or (02) 9959 7686 | +61 2 9959 7686 |
| ME Bank | 13 15 63 | +61 3 9708 4001 |
| My Credit Union | 8202 7777 | +61 2 8299 9101 |
| MyState | 1800 648 027 | +61 2 8299 9101 |
| NAB | 1800 033 103 | +61 3 8641 9083 |
| Newcastle Permanent | 13 19 87 | +61 2 4907 6501 |
| P&N Bank (Police & Nurses) | 13 25 77 | +61 8 9219 7511 |
| People’s Choice CU | 13 11 82 | +61 2 8299 9101 |
| Policebank | 131 728 | +61 2 9287 0888 |
| Qantas Credit Union | 1300 747 747 | +61 2 9582 3200 |
| QPCU | 13 77 28 | +1 303 967 1090 |
| QT Mutual Bank | 13 29 30 | +61 7 3842 6222 |
| Queenslanders Credit Union | 1800 753 377 | +61 7 3218 7200 |
| RaboBank | 1800 723 566 | +61 2 81154265 |
| Rabobank | 1800 445 445 | +61 2 8115 2558 |
| RAMS | 13 7267 | N/A |
| Rural Bank | 1800 035 383 | +61 8 7109 9207 |
| SCU | 13 61 91 | N/A |
| Service One Alliance Bank | 1300 361 761 | +61 2 8299 9101 |
| St.George | 1800 028 208 | +61 2 9553 5333 |
| Suncorp Bank | 1800 775 020 | +61 7 3362 1712 |
| Teachers Mutual Bank | 13 12 21 | +61 2 9735 9331 |
| Ubank | 1300 822 630 | +61 2 8756 0855 |
| Bank First | 1300 654 822 | +61 3 9834 8560 |
| Virgin Money | 13 37 39 | +61 2 8288 2222 |
| Westpac | 1300 651 089 | +61 2 9374 7237 |
| Your Credit Union | 1800 621 199 | N/A |
A zero liability guarantee is a guarantee offered by card issuers where a fraudulent or unauthorised transaction will not be completed. The money will not be removed from your bank account. You will need to have adequate proof in the form of correspondence to prove that the transaction was indeed unauthorised.
To benefit from a zero liability guarantee, you must file the claim as soon as possible, because some debit cards have a time limit on their zero liability guarantee. Also, not all debit cards offer this option.
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My Daughter has had money taken from her account through purchases in a town approximately 2000 km away. Can confirm that she was at work at the time of transactions. Bank is saying she confirmed the purchases by way of confirmation code. The last time she had to confirm any code was approx 1 month prior to the said transactions. Whilst she was on the phone to the bank regarding the said transactions another $3000 dollars was being transferred from the same account to her other account, which was stopped at the time, by the bank. The bank is offering 25% of the loss of money and still saying she confirmed the transaction, even though they were aware of what was happening as she was reporting it to them at the same time it was occurring . Who do I see to take this further?
Hi Grant, I’m sorry to hear your daughter has experienced this, however you need to continue to work with the bank directly to resolve this.
All the best,
Alison
My Google account has been hacked into an it’s linked up to my online banking an my myGov iv had money taken out of my account how do I report an be refunded of stolen money
Hi Rosemary,
We’re sorry to hear that your account has been hacked. The very first you should do is contact your bank. You can file a claim If the transaction has already gone through and your bank will advise the next steps how to get the money back. Make sure to read the Product Disclosure Statements and Terms & Conditions to learn more about their claims and refund process. You can also check this page on how to recover your hacked Google account.
Thanks,
Alison
My son took my credit card and purchased something without my consent. My credit card provider is saying I have to go to the police if I want to get my money back but I do want my 12-year-old son in trouble with the police. Is this normal procedure with the banks?
Hello Kate,
Thank you for your comment.
Since you’re filing for a fraudulent transaction, a police report is required by some banks for investigation and yes, that’s a normal procedure.
If you also want a refund, you may contact the merchant your son had purchased the item from and return it to them and check if they can refund you the payment.
Should you wish to have real-time answers to your questions, try our chat box on the lower right corner of our page.
Regards,
Jhezelyn
Hi,
We have had a number of fraudulent transactions happen to us.
Your statement about the money being stopped is incorrect as the transaction must be completed before you can lodge a claim.
My Question is there is also a number of currency conversion fees attached to the transaction. Am I able to claim these also?
Hi Mattinthehat,
Thank you for your inquiry.
Our company finder.com.au is a financial comparison website and general information service designed to help consumers to make a better decision. Please note we do not represent any company we feature on our pages.
Claim does not guarantee a refund, this could be your best bet when other options have failed. Here are the steps to make the refund process as easy as possible. You may want to read the step by step procedure for your guidance.
I hope this information has helped.
Cheers,
Harold
If money transaction was made through a credit card ( by my computer) to a company that proved to be a scam, after they promised me great short term profits that never appeared, can I dispute and reverse the money transaction after 6 months?
Thank you
Hi Sofia,
Thanks for your question.
It should be noted, we are a comparison website and as such, can provide general advice only.
It will depend on the terms and conditions of your credit card, however fraudulent transactions should be reported within 30 days.
As it is now passed the 30 day mark, we recommend seeking the advice of a lawyer to discuss your options. Still do notify the bank and discuss your options.
Hope this helps.
Clarizza