Not upheld: fraud - failure to prevent authorised push payment (APP) fraud / failure to intervene on suspicious transactions complaint against National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company (NatWest)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr L lost £4,079.22 to a sophisticated job scam that required him to make cryptocurrency payments. He made seven payments from his NatWest account between 14-27 January 2026, all to accounts in his own name, after which the funds were transferred to scammers. Mr L complained that NatWest should have identified red flags including the velocity of payments, the cryptocurrency transfers, and his simultaneous overdraft application. The ombudsman found NatWest was not at fault because the individual payment amounts were relatively low, no clear pattern of fraud had emerged at the time, and the bank had no sufficient grounds to suspect fraud. The complaint was not upheld and no refund was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While banks must process authorised payments promptly, they also have a duty to exercise reasonable skill and care and protect customers from fraud. However, the ombudsman found that at the time these payments were made, there were insufficient grounds for NatWest to suspect fraud. The amounts were relatively low, the number of payments was few enough that a clear pattern had not emerged, and payment 7 to a different payee was not obviously linked to the earlier payments. The overdraft application, while noted, did not significantly change the risk assessment given its low limit and interest-free nature. The ombudsman also considered the FCA's Consumer Duty but concluded the bank's actions were not the cause of the harm and the harm was not reasonably foreseeable given the information available.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website