Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Wise Payments Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr D fell victim to a sophisticated impersonation scam where individuals posing as an overseas police force convinced him he was under investigation and coerced him into making £32,000 in payments from his Wise account between April and May 2025. Wise provided automated warnings and questionnaires but did not conduct more probing human intervention. Mr D complained that Wise should have done more to prevent the payments and recover his losses. The ombudsman found that while Wise's intervention was insufficient, the scammers had exerted such complete control over Mr D through threats, surveillance, and psychological manipulation that even proportionate intervention would not have prevented the loss, as Mr D would not have felt able to speak freely or would have been coached by the scammers on how to respond.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While Wise should have done more by conducting probing questions or phone/chat contact given the concerning answers Mr D provided, the critical issue is causation. The ombudsman found it highly unlikely that proportionate intervention would have uncovered the scam because Mr D was under immense psychological and emotional control by the scammers, had been threatened with severe consequences if he revealed the truth, believed he was under constant surveillance, and had demonstrated willingness to seek the scammers' guidance on how to respond to Wise. Even if Wise had intervened more robustly, Mr D would likely have either fabricated a reason for the payments or been coached by the scammers on what to say, and would not have felt able to speak freely due to fear of reprisal.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website