Criminals obtained around 255,000 euros through fraudulent transfers. The bank must compensate the account holder for the damages as per the ruling of the OLG Karlsruhe dated April 12, 2022 (Ref. 17 U 823/20).
Fraudsters are ingenious when it comes to emptying foreign bank accounts. Banking law stipulates that affected account holders are not defenseless and the bank may be liable, explains the economic law firm MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte, which specializes in banking law. The rights of bank customers have been strengthened by the decision of the OLG Karlsruhe on April 12, 2022.
In the present case, the account balance was a shock to the bank customer. Without her knowledge, third parties had made a total of 13 transfers from her account amounting to approximately 255,000 euros. Since she had not authorized the transfers, she demanded the money back from the bank.
The bank resisted the demand. It was customary for the plaintiff to issue transfer orders to her account manager via email. She partially added the corresponding invoices. Her account manager carried out the orders and confirmed the transfers to the plaintiff by email.
This was no different with the disputed 13 transfers. According to the sender, the emails came from the plaintiff and the corresponding invoices were attached. Therefore, the account manager executed the transfers. The difference was that the transfer orders did not originate from the customer.
The OLG Karlsruhe ruled that the bank must compensate for the damages. Issuing transfer orders via email is a risky method and susceptible to forgery. Since the bank relied on this method without taking further security measures, it also bears the risk and the burden of proof, the court decided. The bank must prove that the emails originated from the customer and not the other way around.
Furthermore, an expert report suggests that the plaintiff’s email account was hacked. The bank could have noticed that the emails were sent from a different time zone and differed in content and tone from the plaintiff’s usual emails, according to the OLG.
Experienced lawyers in banking law advise at MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte.
