Not upheld: scam / fraud prevention and intervention complaint against Handelsbanken plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P complained that Handelsbanken should refund approximately £76,400 he lost to a scam involving fraudsters posing as solicitors and recovery specialists who convinced him to make repeated payments to Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange. Handelsbanken intervened on 4 March 2024 and 21 May 2024 to discuss the payments, but Mr P provided false information claiming he had been investing in cryptocurrency for years and had set up his own accounts. The ombudsman found that while cryptocurrency payments carry higher fraud risk and Handelsbanken should have intervened, the bank did intervene appropriately, and Mr P's deliberate provision of false information made it impossible for the bank to uncover the scam. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While Mr P was the victim of a cruel scam and cryptocurrency payments carry higher fraud risk, Handelsbanken did intervene appropriately on two occasions. Mr P deliberately provided false information during these interventions, claiming he had been making such payments for years and had set up his own accounts, when in fact he was being scammed. The ombudsman found that Mr P's willingness to provide incorrect information made it very difficult for Handelsbanken to uncover the scam, and there was insufficient evidence that further intervention would have prevented the loss given Mr P's deceptive responses.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website