The Banking Ombudsman is warning that tourists forced to make inflated credit card payments under threats of violence may still have to reimburse the bank.
Deborah Battell says her office recently investigated a complaint from a man on holiday in Eastern Europe, who was heavied into paying $1600 by credit-card by a bar for hospitality he didn't receive.
She says the fact the payment was made under duress unfortunately didn't make any difference because the customer had authorised the transaction.
"The contract with your bank says that if you authorise a payment and the money is there, or the credit is there, then the bank is obliged to pay and you then need to pay the bank."
Ms Battell says scam victims can try to get their money back through a charge-back provision, used by banks in cases of disputed transactions, but this is difficult where a transaction has been authorised.
