FRAUD victims should not automatically get refunds from their banks, the boss of RBS said last night.
Customers needed to be more careful to avoid being tricked, Ross McEwan insisted.
It was not always the responsibility of the banks and they could not afford to cover the losses, he said.
Asked whether his bank, which was rescued with a £46billion taxpayer bail-out in the financial crash, had a duty of care to victims, he replied: “No.”
Mr McEwan told the Daily Mail: “We are working very hard to help customers detect when there are difficulties but I think this has to be in partnership with the customer and with the bank.
“You can’t keep blaming this on an organisation where customers don’t take their own duty of care as well.”
Rules state that banks must refund victims of fraud unless they can prove negligence.
Campaigners want that loophole closed so those tricked into transferring money are compensated.
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But Mr McEwan, whose group owns NatWest and has 24million customers, argues that will only drive up banking fees.
An RBS spokesman said: “Where a customer has suffered loss we review their situation, establish the facts and make a decision on a case-by-case basis.”