Not upheld: scam/fraud - failure to prevent or warn complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr K complained that HSBC failed to refund money he lost to a blackmail scam involving multiple payments. The ombudsman found that while individual payment values did not trigger HSBC's automatic checking system, the quick frequency should have prompted a general fraud warning. However, the ombudsman concluded that such a warning would not have been relevant to the specific blackmail scam and would not have resonated with Mr K. Critically, Mr K only contacted the bank after running out of money, not when he first became aware of the blackmail, making any intervention unlikely to have prevented the loss. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While HSBC should have issued a general fraud and scam warning based on the quick frequency of payments, such a warning would not have been relevant to the specific blackmail scam Mr K was experiencing and would not have resonated with him. Critically, Mr K did not contact the bank or police when he first became aware of the blackmail, only after running out of money, making it unlikely any intervention would have prevented the scam.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website