Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Taoiseach publishes Report on Authorised Push Payment Fraud; recommends shared fraud database, greater coordination and communication by stakeholders

Launching the report, Cathaoirleach Committee Deputy John McGuinness said: “Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud is an increasingly prevalent trend, in which fraudsters trick an individual or business to send money from their account to one controlled by a fraudster. Instances of this type of fraud have increased significantly in recent years and amid growing concerns around the prevalence of the issue, the Committee undertook an examination of the impacts of APP fraud.

“As this type of activity spans across a range of policy and legislative areas, there are a number of Departments, Regulatory Bodies and Agencies necessarily involved. The Joint Committee held five public sessions, meeting with officials from the Department of Finance and the Department of Justice; representatives of the Banking and Payment Federation of Ireland and the Central Bank of Ireland; representatives of the Garda Economic Crime Bureau; and finally, representatives of online platforms Amazon, Google and Meta.

“Across their examination, the Committee heard of good practice in some areas but it became apparent that there is a siloed approach and lack of collaboration between the various involved parties regarding Authorised Push Payment Fraud. The Committee acknowledges the extent and challenges of Authorised Push Payment Fraud and that no one measure alone can effectively prevent the threats posed by this type of fraud. 

“The Committee believes that a centrally led, whole-of-system approach is warranted, whereby the State, financial services, social media companies, telecommunications companies and An Garda Síochána can collaborate to devise appropriate strategies to better share intelligence, implement protections for consumers and develop barriers to criminal activity.”

The report makes a number of recommendations towards creating an approach to effectively combat this type of fraud, which includes phishing, smishing and vishing, accommodation, investment and romance scams, business email takeovers and invoice redirection, and shopping and online auction fraud. Key among the recommendations of the Committee are:

• Designation of a lead entity to ensure accountability for customer rights through all stages, and political support and leadership to ensure the measures are subsequently implemented;
• The establishment and implementation of uniform reporting standards with regard to all known instances of suspicious or fraudulent activity;
• Enactment of the secondary legislation necessary to facilitate data-sharing and the establishment of a shared fraud database;
• Publication of the National Economic Crime Strategy.
• A direct line of communication between financial institutions and social media companies / internet providers is developed urgently in order to ensure swift reporting and removal of fraudulent advertisements.
• The establishment of a co-ordinated expert group for examining economic crime such as APP Fraud. The group should include key authorities e.g., the Department of Finance, the Department of Justice, Central Bank and An Garda Síochána and stakeholders e.g. representatives of the banking and payment sector, communication industry and online platforms.

The Joint Committee’s Report on Authorised Push Payment Fraud is available on the Oireachtas website.

The Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.