Jockeys told to shun High Street banks after frauds

High Street banks were today resolutely put out to pasture by jockeys, in a move that’s set to whip up anger in the finance industry.

The Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) has officially advised its members to move their cash out of Britain’s biggest banks, after some £200,000 was stolen from about 30 jockeys in fraudulent activity spanning two years.

“The banks [are] seemingly both unwilling and incapable of preventing or investigating the [frauds], and the police and Action Fraud are of no use whatsoever,” the PJA wrote. It said individuals, who had been captured on CCTV, had walked into bank branches, and fraudulently withdrawn significant amounts of cash over the counter, either presenting fake ID or blagging their way through checks by using publicly available information.

The group said it was “scandalous” that banks handed over “several thousands of pounds despite signatures that don’t match”.

It advised all jockeys to “move their banking off the High Street,” though its suggested M&S Bank and First Direct, which are both owned by High Street giant HSBC.