Authorised push payments (APPs) are made when people request their bank or building society (also known as a payment services provider or PSP) makes a payment from their account to another account.

Scams involving APPs occur when consumers are tricked into authorising a payment to an account that they believe belongs to a legitimate payee – but is in fact controlled by a scammer.

Payments related to APP scams can be made over the phone, online, or in person, and most are completed instantly.

APP scams are a crime that can have a devastating effect on the victims. Statistics published by UK Finance show that there were 43,875 victims of APP scams in 2017, involving a total amount of £236 million.