Not upheld: Cifas marker registration; account closure; alleged misuse of facility complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr H complained that Barclays unfairly registered a Cifas fraud marker on his account and closed it following receipt of three fraudulent payments totalling £9,250 in February 2021, which were quickly transferred to a cryptocurrency exchange. Mr H maintained he did not make the payments, did not recognise them, and had no involvement in the fraud. The ombudsman found that while Barclays should have contacted Mr H before acting, the marker was registered fairly because it was implausible that Mr H would not have recognised the significance of large unexpected credits immediately followed by large outgoing transfers, suggesting he either knew of the fraud or allowed unauthorised access. The complaint was not upheld and the marker was not required to be removed.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Barclays had reasonable grounds to believe fraudulent activity had occurred. Although Mr H denied involvement, the ombudsman found it implausible that he would not have recognised the significance of £9,250 in unexpected credits immediately followed by large outgoing transfers to a cryptocurrency exchange. The ombudsman concluded it was more likely than not that Mr H knew the payments were or might be fraudulent, or at minimum allowed someone else access to his account. Regardless of whether Mr H directly benefited, his account was used to receive and transfer fraudulent funds, justifying the Cifas marker.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website