Financial Ombudsman Service warns young people to stay alert to online scams

While this is a public awareness message rather than a new rule, it signals ongoing supervisory and consumer-protection attention on how firms prevent, detect and respond to scams affecting younger customers. For compliance teams, the key issue is not only fraud loss but the customer journey around warnings, reporting, reimbursement and complaint handling. Firms should review scam-prevention controls, ensure clear and timely customer communications, and monitor complaint root causes for this demographic.

Consumer Duty outcomes and financial crime obligations make it prudent to test whether younger customers receive effective warnings at relevant touchpoints and can easily escalate concerns. Action is needed to strengthen detection, improve education, and reduce avoidable complaints.