If you are looking for a lawyer for bank fraud in Barcelona because unauthorised transfers have emptied your account, take a breath: in the vast majority of cases the money can be recovered. A phishing or smishing attack is frightening, especially when you call your bank and the first response is to wash their hands of it.
Banks routinely blame the customer, on the basis that it was they who gave away the credentials. The case law, however, is clear and protects the consumer. Here is why the bank is the party truly responsible, and what to do immediately.
1. The bank will say it is your fault. The law says otherwise
When a criminal impersonates your bank by text or email to steal from you, there is a failure in the bank’s own security.
European and Spanish law — specifically the Payment Services Act — imposes what is close to strict liability. Banks must refund the amount of any unauthorised transaction immediately, unless they can prove gross negligence by the customer. Falling for a sophisticated deception — a text that lands in the same thread as the bank’s genuine messages — is not treated by the courts as gross negligence. That is why an early assessment by a lawyer for bank fraud matters: it establishes that the bank failed in its duty to protect you.
2. A four-step guide
Step 1: block everything and preserve the evidence
Call the bank to block cards, accounts and login credentials. Then screenshot the fraudulent texts, the emails and the unauthorised transactions. Delete nothing: this is your principal evidence.
Step 2: report it to the police
Go to the Policía Nacional or the Mossos d’Esquadra. The report must state clearly that you were the victim of computer fraud, with the amounts taken and how the deception worked.
Step 3: complain to the bank’s customer service department
With the police report in hand, submit a formal written complaint to the bank demanding a refund. At this stage almost every bank sends a standard letter refusing and blaming the customer. Do not be discouraged: it is part of a strategy to make you give up.
Step 4: court proceedings
This is where the balance tips your way. Once the bank refuses, the next step is for your lawyer to file a civil claim. Faced with proceedings, many banks settle and refund before trial, knowing the courts tend to find for the consumer.
3. Why you need a specialist
Fighting a bank’s legal department alone is very hard. Financial institutions count on the customer giving up after the first refusal and writing the money off.
Instructing a lawyer from the outset changes that. A specialist drafts the pre-action claim on the basis of Supreme Court case law and, if the bank will not move, files a solid civil claim.
4. Conclusion: do not write the money off
Being the victim of a cybercrime does not make you the culpable party. The law requires banks to maintain robust security and to protect your funds against transactions you never knowingly authorised.
Request legal advice
Has your account been emptied and the bank refuses to respond? We will review your case in detail, gather the evidence and sue the bank for the return of your savings. Our office is at Calle Balmes 188, Barcelona.
-
Phone: +34 611 647 462
-
Email: info@diariodeunabogado.es
