Financial giant JPMorgan’s Chase Bank in the United Kingdom is reportedly banning transactions to crypto platforms, citing a rise in scams targeting its customers.
According to a new one report from Reuters, Chase’s crypto ban will take effect on October 16.
Says a Chase spokesperson:
“We have seen an increase in the number of crypto scams targeting UK consumers, so we have made the decision to ban the purchase of crypto assets on a Chase debit card or by transferring money to a crypto site from a Chase account prevent.”
Customers were informed of the planned changes by email on Tuesday morning.
In an email to customers seen by CNBC, the bank said:
“Customers will receive a declined transaction notification if they attempt to complete a crypto-related transaction… This is done to protect our customers and keep their funds safe.”
Earlier this month, Chase said a customer who lost $24,000 in a sophisticated scam was out of luck, even though the money was sent directly to a Chase bank account used by the scammer.
New Jersey resident Todd Kirby received a text message from Chase asking if he had just authorized a $4,000 wire transfer. He said no and received a call from the same number on the back of his Chase debit card. A fake representative convinced him to transfer his entire balance to another Chase account set up by the scammer.
When he realized he might have been duped, he informed the bank, filed a claim to get his money back and informed the police. Three business days later, Chase denied the claim. He filed two additional claims, which were also denied and says the bank has a responsibility to reimburse his account.
He claims the scammers were able to impersonate Chase perfectly and he had no way of knowing it was a scam. He asks why Chase won’t protect him from this type of fraud.
Chase says it has made “reasonable efforts” to recover Kirby’s money.
Chase points people to one page on its website with tips on how to avoid scams.
“We urge all consumers to ignore phone, text or internet requests for money or access to their computers or bank accounts. Legitimate companies will not make these requests, but scammers will.”
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