NatWest is limiting the amount customers can trade on cryptocurrency exchanges in the face of growing scams.
The bank is introducing a daily limit of £1,000 and a 30-day payment limit of £5,000 to help protect customers losing life changing sums of money. Some £329m was lost by consumers last year as a result of cryptocurrency criminal activities.
Digital currencies aren't protected by the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme with the majority not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Men over 35 are most at risk due to them being more willing to take on risky investments. The cost-of-living crisis is also having an impact with promises of high returns used by criminals to entice investors.
Stuart Skinner, head of fraud protection NatWest, said: “You should always have sole control of your cryptocurrency wallet and nobody else should have access. If you didn’t set the wallet up yourself or can’t access the money then this is likely to be a scam.
We have seen an increase in the number of scams using cryptocurrency exchanges and we are acting to protect our customers.”
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