Not upheld: fraud and scam losses - romance scam complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr H lost £363,152 to a romance scam conducted via social media between March-April 2023, making five payments from his HSBC accounts based on false promises of inherited gold and diamonds. When HSBC and another bank questioned the payments, Mr H provided misleading explanations and became defensive, refusing verification details. The ombudsman found that although HSBC should have implemented fraud monitoring and conducted additional checks, Mr H deliberately circumvented bank safeguards and continued attempting payments from other banks despite warnings from multiple sources. The ombudsman concluded that no reasonable action by HSBC would have prevented the loss, as Mr H was determined to continue sending money regardless of intervention, and therefore did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Although HSBC should have monitored accounts and conducted additional checks, the ombudsman found that even if HSBC had recognised heightened fraud risk and asked probing questions, Mr H would likely have provided misleading information as he did with other banks. The ombudsman noted Mr H deliberately gave false explanations to avoid bank scrutiny, discussed with the scammer ways to circumvent bank questions, and continued attempting payments from other banks despite warnings from multiple sources. Therefore, no reasonable action by HSBC would have prevented the loss.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website