Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against State Bank Of India (UK) Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr K and Mrs P complained to SBI after Mr K fell victim to a cryptocurrency investment scam (Bibcoin), losing £55,495.12 across 12 transactions made between 29 July and 8 August 2024. Mr K argued that SBI should have intervened to prevent the payments or recovered the funds. The ombudsman found that while some payments could arguably have triggered warnings, SBI's provision of automated investment warnings for certain transactions was reasonable, and more proportionate warnings would likely not have changed Mr K's behaviour based on his similar experience with HSBC. The ombudsman also found that recovery was not feasible given the time elapsed and the nature of cryptocurrency transactions. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman acknowledged that some payments could arguably have appeared unusual and triggered warnings, particularly Payment 3 and the £10,000 transfers. However, the ombudsman found that a proportionate intervention would have been automated scam warnings tailored to cryptocurrency risks, which SBI partially provided. Critically, the ombudsman was not persuaded that even more proportionate warnings would have made a difference, citing Mr K's linked HSBC complaint where proportionate tailored warnings were provided but ignored. The ombudsman also found that recovery was not feasible given the time elapsed, the nature of cryptocurrency transactions, and the beneficiary's statements that no funds remained.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website