Not upheld: Cifas fraud marker registration and account closure complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss B complained that Monzo unfairly registered a Cifas fraud marker against her and closed her account. In July 2025, Miss B received a £125 fraudulent payment from an individual and immediately transferred it to another person in Pakistan; Monzo was notified by another bank that the funds originated from a rental scam. When questioned, Miss B initially told Monzo the money was from her cousin but later claimed to the investigator that she received it as part of an online job and was directed to transfer it. The ombudsman found that although Monzo could have investigated more thoroughly, the evidence supported that Miss B was likely knowingly involved in fraud or money laundering, including the immediate transfer of confirmed fraudulent funds, inconsistent explanations, lack of corroborative evidence, and suspicious circumstances. The ombudsman upheld Monzo's decision to register the marker and close the account.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that although Monzo could have investigated more thoroughly initially, the evidence supported that Miss B was likely knowingly involved in fraud or money laundering. The ombudsman noted that Miss B received confirmed fraudulent funds, provided inconsistent explanations, failed to provide corroborative evidence for her job scam claim, and the screenshots she provided lacked key details about the sender, the transaction, or A. The ombudsman found it suspicious that Miss B only presented the job scam explanation to the investigator, not in her original complaint to Monzo, and that she did not alert Monzo at the time if she genuinely believed she was being manipulated. The ombudsman concluded there were reasonable grounds to suspect Miss B was complicit in the fraud, meeting the Cifas standard of proof.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website