The woman in her 70s who took the case to court had her account drained of over NOK 150,000. It was a classic case of the so-called Olga scam, often aimed at the elderly. The Financial Appeal Board believed that the bank should compensate the loss, but the bank did not follow the board’s decision. Thus the case ended up in court. The woman lost in the district court, but won in the court of appeal. Then the bank appealed to the Supreme Court. The decision in the Supreme Court was handed down this week. The appeal was rejected and the judgment from the Court of Appeal stands. This means that the bank must pay compensation. The woman in her 70s has to pay NOK 12,000 in excess, but now gets back the rest of the money she was defrauded of. The bank is disappointed The decision in the Supreme Court has consequences for other bank customers who have been exposed to the same type of fraud. Sparebank1 Østlandet now confirms that they will pay. – We are of course disappointed by the verdict, but take it into account and will pay compensation to the customer, says Siv Stenseth, who is executive vice president of communications and society at Sparebank1 Østlandet. PAYING: Group director communications and society at Sparebank1 Østlandet, Siv Stenseth, says they will now pay compensation to the women who have been exposed to fraud. Photo: Anders Bakkerud Larsen / news The bank is Norway’s fourth largest savings bank and believed it was important to get clarification at the highest level because the case raises questions of principle. – We fully understand that this has been a difficult case for the person who has been defrauded, and it is good that the case has now been closed. At the same time, it was both right and useful to get the Supreme Court’s view on the matter, partly because different courts have previously come to different conclusions, says Stenseth. Sparebank1 Østlandet will now pay compensation to all its customers who have been exposed to this type of fraud. According to the bank, this applies to a small number of cases. Traumatic for the victims The woman who took the case through three courts is from the Glåmdal district. Lillian Jensen from Brumunddal has been exposed to exactly the same thing. She is one of those who can now count on having her loss covered by her bank. Lillian does not want to speak, but her niece, Marit Amundsen, says the fraud case has been burdensome and traumatic for her. – I have always believed that she would get the money back, because she acted in good faith, she says. Now I’ll be surprised if Lillian doesn’t get the money back, she says. She praises the woman in her 70s who has stood alone and braved the fight against the bank through three courts. Now she believes the banks must improve their information. – They should also send letters to elderly bank customers that there is fraud going on, because the elderly read letters and not what is written on the banks’ websites, says Marit Amundsen. Eye-opening The method in the so-called “Olga scam” targets the elderly. The fraudsters call the customers, say they are from their bank and try to extract codes, passwords and sensitive information. In the case that has now been decided in the Supreme Court, the bank believed that the woman had to cover her loss herself, because she gave information about her account over the phone. Now Sparebank1 Østlandet hopes that this case has increased people’s awareness of such fraud. – We would like to remind you again how important it is not to share log-in information for online banking and mobile banking with unauthorized persons, says Siv Stenseth.
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Sparebank1 Østlandet must pay compensation to women who were victims of the Olga scam – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
