Not upheld: scam and fraud - reimbursement claim complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr T lost approximately £2,400 to an investment scam between May and June 2025 and sought reimbursement from HSBC. HSBC refused to reimburse the funds, and the Investigator did not uphold the complaint. The ombudsman upheld the Investigator's decision, finding that the payments were not sufficiently unusual or uncharacteristic to trigger fraud prevention systems, that HSBC had appropriately intervened on the first payment with scam warnings, and that recovery prospects were unrealistic as the funds had been legitimately transferred and used to purchase shares.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the payments were not sufficiently unusual or uncharacteristic to trigger fraud prevention systems because Mr T had a history of similar-value debits, the payments were spread over several weeks rather than made in quick succession, and the amounts were not significant enough to warrant intervention in the context of daily payment volumes. Although HSBC intervened on the first payment and warned of scam risks, this was all that could reasonably be expected. Recovery was not realistic as the funds were paid to a legitimate merchant account and used to purchase shares.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website