Follow-up to the Technical Note of February 2025 relating to ‘pig butchering’ type of scams

The Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services has released a follow-up guidance document on relationship-based financial fraud, commonly known as “pig butchering” scams, and their growing impact on consumers and payment service providers. It builds on the February 2025 Technical Note by outlining recent developments in casework, appeal decisions, and European regulatory initiatives that shape expectations for banks and other payment institutions.

In particular, the Note highlights how the Arbiter’s decisions, including a judgment confirmed by the Court of Appeal, refine the interpretation of Payment Service Providers obligations in relation to transaction monitoring and reasonable intervention duties under the EU payments framework. It also draws on recent reviews and reports from European and domestic authorities to frame current trends.

Against this background, the Note points to core areas where institutions can strengthen their approach, including staff training, internal preventive measures, awareness of the role of crypto-assets, and customer support practices.

Click to download the Technical Note (January 2026)

Guidance on considerations that the Arbiter will adopt in determining complaints related to ‘pig butchering’ type of scams (February 2025)