Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Zopa Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss M complained that Zopa Bank unfairly recorded a Cifas 'misuse of facility' marker against her after fraudulent funds were received and transferred through her account. Miss M claimed she was an unwitting victim of an employment scam who believed she was legitimately moving funds as part of a job role. However, the ombudsman found that Miss M had been dishonest when questioned by Zopa, fabricated evidence, retained fraudulent funds in her accounts, and provided false information to other firms about subsequent suspicious payments. The ombudsman concluded that Zopa acted fairly in recording the marker as Miss M either knowingly participated in moving fraudulent funds or was aware of circumstances indicating their illegitimate origins, and therefore did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Cifas requirement that there must be 'clear, relevant and rigorous' evidence that a customer knew or ought reasonably to have suspected funds were from an illegitimate source. The ombudsman found that Miss M's dishonesty when questioned, fabrication of evidence, retention of fraudulent funds in her accounts, lack of evidence of a genuine job opportunity, and continued receipt of fraudulent funds after account restriction all demonstrated she was aware of circumstances indicating illegitimate origins. The ombudsman rejected Miss M's claim of unwitting involvement as a money mule victim due to insufficient evidence of the alleged employment scam and the pattern of her dishonest responses.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website