Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against PayPal UK Ltd
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6443595 of 2026-06-26T00:00:00+00:00. Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against PayPal UK Ltd. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6443595 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-26T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | PayPal UK Ltd |
| Product | Other regulated product |
| Claim type | Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | None. Complaint not upheld. |
Summary
Ms A lost approximately £7,000 to scammers who promised to unlock her social media account and provide access to cryptocurrency between September and November 2025. She complained to PayPal, arguing it should have prevented the payments, but PayPal declined to refund her. The ombudsman found that the transaction size and pattern were not sufficiently unusual to warrant PayPal's intervention under fraud monitoring obligations, and the payments fell outside protection schemes. The complaint was not upheld.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman assessed whether the size and pattern of payments should have triggered PayPal's fraud monitoring systems. Concluding that the transactions were not in isolation large enough and the spending pattern was not sufficiently indicative of a scam to be considered unusual or out of character, the ombudsman found no obligation for PayPal to intervene. The ombudsman also determined the payments fell outside protection schemes due to their nature (unlocking accounts and accessing others' cryptocurrency).
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| PayPal UK Ltd, all decisions | 244 | 18% |
| Fraud reimbursement (APP scams), all decisions | 20,976 | 21% |
| Other regulated product, all decisions | 47,449 | 30% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website