Not upheld: scam protection and fraud prevention complaint against Wise Payments Limited (trading as Wise)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr H complained that Wise Payments Limited failed to protect him from an investment scam in 2021 and a recovery scam in 2022. The investigator did not uphold the complaint due to insufficient evidence of a scam. Mr H's representative argued that Wise had accepted the scam occurred and that the firm should have intervened based on transaction patterns and risk indicators. The ombudsman reviewed the available evidence, including call logs and payment records, but found insufficient proof that Mr H fell victim to a scam or that his funds left his control. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding that Mr H's testimony alone, without corroborating evidence or written communication with an alleged scammer, was insufficient to establish the scam occurred.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman required evidence that the payments were made as a result of a scam before considering whether Wise should have intervened. While payments to a cryptocurrency exchange and subsequent transfers were confirmed, there was insufficient evidence that funds left Mr H's control or that the calls were linked to a scam. Mr H's testimony alone, without corroborating written communication or substantive evidence of scam-related calls, was insufficient to establish that a scam occurred. The ombudsman noted that even accepting a scam took place, Mr H had not proven his losses to the alleged scam.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website