Not upheld: scam protection and fraud prevention complaint against Lloyds Bank PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Ms L complained that Lloyds Bank PLC failed to protect her when she fell victim to a romance scam between February and August 2024, during which she sent scammers over £2,000 for gift cards with no balance. Lloyds froze her account on 20 August 2024 after she reported the issue and required her to attend branch and watch scam education videos before regaining access. Ms L claimed Lloyds should have prevented the payments and that its actions caused her distress and inconvenience, including parking fines. The ombudsman found that the individual payments were not suspicious enough to warrant intervention, that Lloyds took reasonable protective action consistent with industry practice, and that Lloyds was aware of Ms L's vulnerabilities and attempted to protect her. The complaint was not upheld, with no remedy ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Ms L was genuinely victimized by a sophisticated romance scam, Lloyds did not breach its duty of care. The individual payments were not of such value or frequency as to appear suspicious in isolation. Purchasing gift cards through legitimate merchants without other red flags would appear as authorized legitimate purchases. Lloyds took reasonable protective action by freezing the account and requiring scam education videos, which was standard practice to prevent further loss. The ombudsman noted that Lloyds' actions stemmed from protecting Ms L, not treating her unfairly. Although Ms L experienced inconvenience and distress, this did not constitute a service failing by Lloyds.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website