Not upheld: fraud prevention and scam losses complaint against Bank of Scotland plc (trading as Halifax)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B complained that Halifax failed to protect him from a cryptocurrency investment scam (CoinPro) between July 2018 and March 2019, resulting in losses of approximately £1 million. The ombudsman found that Halifax should have intervened when Mr B attempted to pay an entity (XtraderFX) subject to an FCA warning on 4 December 2018. However, the ombudsman concluded that Mr B would likely have ignored such intervention, given his demonstrated pattern of trusting the scammers over Halifax's warnings, his receipt of apparent profits that reassured him of legitimacy, and his continued payments even after reporting the scam to Halifax in June 2019. The complaint was not upheld as the ombudsman was not satisfied that any intervention would have prevented Mr B's losses.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Although Halifax should have intervened when the £7,000 payment to XtraderFX was made on 4 December 2018 (as it matched an FCA-warned entity), the ombudsman found that Mr B would likely have frustrated such intervention. This conclusion was based on Mr B's demonstrated pattern of trusting the scammers over Halifax's warnings, his receipt of apparent profits that reassured him, his continued payments even after reporting the scam, and his expressed frustration at Halifax's previous interventions. The cumulative evidence indicated Mr B prioritised assurances from the scammers over those from Halifax.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website