Course programme
Bank Fraud Litigation
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the legal regime applicable to payment fraud for each payment method
- Assess the merits of a liability action against the bank and identify the relevant legal arguments
- Master current case law developments in payment fraud litigation
Module 1 – Fraud Typology and Initial Challenge
- Overview of payment methods in France and statistical data
- Fraud by instrument: bank card, wire transfers and direct debits, cheques (forged and altered)
- Cross-cutting fraud techniques: phishing, smishing, fake bank adviser, spoofing, pharming
- Steps for challenging a fraudulent transaction:
- Reporting within prescribed time limits (8 weeks for authorised direct debits; 13 months for unauthorised transactions – Art. L. 133-24 CMF)
- Complaint to the bank: formal notice, documents to demand
Module 2 – Litigation Strategy
- Strong customer authentication (Art. L. 133-4 F and L. 133-19 CMF, applicable since 14 September 2019)
- Processing a disputed transaction: the four-filter test (Was the transaction authorised? Was there fraudulent conduct? Was strong authentication applied? Was there gross negligence?)
- Absence of strong authentication: mandatory reimbursement even where gross negligence is present (Cass. com., 30 August 2023, no. 22-11.707)
- The concept of apparent anomaly (Cass. com., 19 November 2025, no. 24-19.779)
Module 3 – Recent Case Law
- Distinction between reporting and legal action: reporting deadline = 13 months; limitation period for court proceedings = 5 years (Cass. com., 2 July 2025, no. 24-16.590)
- Burden of proof for gross negligence: borne by the bank (Art. L. 133-23 CMF)
- Recent decisions on fake bank adviser fraud
