Not upheld: CIFAS fraud marker lodgement complaint against Starling Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss S complained that Starling Bank unfairly lodged a CIFAS fraud marker against her in February 2025 after she received £230 in fraudulent funds from a purchase scam via her cousin's account and immediately transferred it onwards. Starling closed her account and registered the marker, which subsequently caused her other accounts to be closed and made obtaining credit difficult. Miss S claimed she was innocently helping her cousin and making legitimate payments to family members and a friend in prison. The ombudsman upheld Starling's decision, finding the bank had clear evidence of Miss S's involvement in receiving and transferring fraudulent funds, and was not persuaded by her explanations given the suspicious transaction patterns and chat messages instructing use of random reference names.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Starling had clear, relevant and rigorous evidence that Miss S was involved in receiving and transferring fraudulent funds. The pattern of receiving money from her cousin (who claimed ID issues prevented her own account use) and immediately transferring it onwards, combined with chat messages instructing use of random reference names and Miss S providing account details to multiple parties, demonstrated involvement in financial crime rather than innocent assistance. The ombudsman was not persuaded by Miss S's later explanations about payments to her brother and imprisoned friend, as these did not match the timing and amounts of the credits received.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website