Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B lost approximately £185,000 in a cryptocurrency investment scam through payments made from his Halifax account between April and June 2024. Halifax blocked multiple payments and conducted intervention calls during which it provided scam information, but Mr B repeatedly denied third-party involvement and stated he was simply purchasing cryptocurrency for personal holdings. The ombudsman found that while Halifax had a duty to look out for fraud, the bank's multiple interventions and scam warnings were sufficient, and Mr B's consistent misrepresentations about the true nature of the payments meant Halifax could not reasonably have identified or prevented the scam. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While Halifax had a duty to look out for fraud and make additional checks in certain circumstances, the bank conducted multiple interventions and provided scam information to Mr B. The ombudsman found that Mr B repeatedly and categorically denied third-party involvement and misrepresented his circumstances to the bank, stating he was simply purchasing cryptocurrency for personal holdings. Given these consistent reassurances and the absence of any indication of third-party involvement, the ombudsman concluded Halifax could not reasonably have identified the scam or prevented the losses. The ombudsman rejected the argument that Halifax should have considered the possibility of a clone firm, as this would contradict Mr B's explicit statements that there was no third-party involvement.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website