Not upheld: failure to intervene in APP scam / inadequate fraud prevention measures complaint against Wise Payments Limited (trading as Wise)

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs L lost £25,000 to an investment scam after making two payments via Wise's remittance service to accounts in her own name, from which the funds were transferred to a fraudulent trading platform. She complained that Wise failed to protect her money and should refund her losses. The ombudsman found that Wise should have intervened before processing the first £15,000 payment, as it was unusually high-value and out of character for her account. However, the ombudsman concluded that Mrs L would most likely have provided a credible false explanation to Wise, as evidenced by her detailed cover story to her main bank and her previous failure to heed warnings from her loan provider and partner. Therefore, the complaint was not upheld and no refund was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While Wise should have intervened on payment 1 due to its unusual high value and out-of-character nature, the ombudsman found that Mrs L would most likely have provided a credible cover story to conceal the scam, as evidenced by her detailed false account to her main bank, her reliance on the scammers for guidance, her confidence in presenting false information, and her previous failure to heed warnings from her loan provider and partner. The ombudsman concluded that on balance, the available evidence showed she would have convincingly concealed the truth from Wise and prevented it from breaking the spell of the scam.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website