Large law firm lawyer is liable for phishing damage: OLG Frankfurt confirms bank decision

Large law firm lawyer is liable for phishing damage: OLG Frankfurt confirms bank decision

The Frankfurt am Main Higher Regional Court has confirmed in a ruling that a bank does not have to refund the transferred amount to a customer who has fallen victim to a phishing attack because the customer acted with gross negligence. The customer, a lawyer and tax advisor, was asked to confirm his details via a web link that contained the word “Sparkasse”. As a result, a fraudster gained access to his account and transferred an amount of 49,999.99 euros. The bank refused to refund the amount because the customer had acted with gross negligence.

The court decisions in these cases make it clear that in phishing attacks, control of security features such as PushTAN must not be placed in the hands of fraudsters. Customers must protect their security features and prevent unauthorized access. In this case, the customer was accused of being grossly negligent by confirming PushTANs in response to a telephone call. The Higher Regional Court emphasized that the customer must carefully check the ad in the TAN app and pay attention to possible attempts at fraud.

This decision has implications for the financial industry as it sends a clear message to banking customers to carefully protect their security features and be extremely cautious about suspicious messages or calls. Customers must be aware of the risk of phishing attacks and be careful not to reveal their identity and security details.

The banks will refuse to refund the amount in such cases if gross negligence on the part of the customer can be proven. This ruling serves as a warning to all bank customers who must counter phishing attacks and fraud by carefully checking messages and calls.

According to a report by rsw.beck.de