A man who lost $40,000 to a cryptocurrency scam has failed in his attempt to claim that the bank should have done more to warn him.
The man complained to the Banking Ombudsman after being conned by someone he met on WeChat.
He joined a group to exchange advice with investors. One sent him a private message and convinced him to invest in cryptocurrency.
He paid $40,000 to two New Zealand cryptocurrency brokers, who exchanged his funds for cryptocurrency. The scammer sent him a link to what looked like an overseas trading platform and told him to transfer his cryptocurrency. But the link was a mock version of the platform and the scammer stole the investment.
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The man did not realise until several months later. By then, the bank could not retrieve his money.
He then discovered that investment scams like this were common and argued the bank should have done more to warn him.
But the Banking Ombudsman, which does not identify people who complain or the banks they complain about, said customers were responsible for making sure the person or organisation receiving money was who they thought they were.
“Banks are responsible for carrying out customers’ instructions. They have no general obligation to ensure customers are making good financial…
