What is a CIFAS marker and how likely is it to be unfairly applied?

Financial institutions are becoming increasingly reliant on automated tools to ensure that the individuals or companies that they are doing business with are legitimate. One of these tools is the automated fraud database under the name of Credit Industry Awareness System (CIFAS).

What is CIFAS?

CIFAS is a not-for-profit fraud organisation, which contains a database that holds details of fraudulent activity across the UK. This includes information regarding individuals suspected of having committed a financial crime.

Financial organisations, such as banks, that have a membership with CIFAS can access this information in an attempt to reduce the risk of fraud for both themselves and other CIFAS members.

What can CIFAS do?

CIFAS can place a “marker” against a customer’s credit report if a financial organisation suspects that that customer has engaged in fraudulent activity. It results in an alert to other financial organisations that have a membership with CIFAS, indicating potential risks associated with the provision of financial services to this individual.

Does CIFAS provide any safeguards?

According to CIFAS’ standard of proof, there must be reasonable grounds to believe that  fraud or a financial crime has been committed or attempted, and evidence must be “clear, relevant and rigorous”.

Is there a risk that CIFAS will apply a marker unfairly?

When a financial institution makes a decision to apply a fraudulent marker using an automated tool such as CIFAS, there is a risk that a marker will not be fairly or reasonably applied due to the speed at which a decision is made and/or the sheer number of transactions that needs to be processed. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has also reported that they have overturned markers imposed by CIFAS due to them being applied unfairly or unreasonably.

What further risks will I face if a CIFAS marker is applied against me?

Once a CIFAS marker is applied against an individual’s name, there is a risk that they will be unable to access credit facilities, which may lead to potential further issues, such as de-banking.

What can be done when a marker has been applied unfairly by CIFAS?

We are increasingly being approached by individuals who have had markers applied against them by CIFAS despite not having carried out any fraudulent activity, or individuals who feel that incorrect and/or inaccurate data about them stored in compliance databases is having an adverse effect on their relationships with financial institutions, causing subsequent issues, such as bank account closures and/or difficulties in opening a bank account.

We have previously discussed how to remove a CIFAS marker. In summary, CIFAS marker removal process involves:

1. Targeting the CIFAS Marker database by initially making a Data Subject Access Request (“DSAR”) against CIFAS;
2. Upon receipt of the DSAR, its results need to be analysed to establish which institution requested the marker to be added; and
3. Appropriate and rigorous representation to the financial institution will need to be drafted, requesting the removal of the marker.

We have also written a series of blogs on a basic overview of The main functions of compliance databases such as World-Check and How you can correct information about yourself on such databases.

NAVIGATING FINANCIAL INSTITUTION RELATED CHALLENGES

What can I do to try and challenge a wrong decision to close my personal and/or bank account(s)

In the meantime, we are increasingly being approached by individuals who have been “de-banked” despite being adamant that that they have always acted in full compliance with the relevant bank account’s Terms and Conditions and all other legal and applicable rules and regulations.

We have previously written about how other issues individuals may face, including account closures, are not limited to political figures in the UK, and affect many thousands of lawful individual and business customers every year.  These cases have exposed the difficult balance many financial institutions and their individual and business customers must navigate to gain and maintain access to basic banking services.

To assist those whose accounts have been closed, Gherson’s financial crime, investigations and regulatory team have previously written blogs titled

“Why has my bank account been closed?”

“Why has my business bank account been closed?”

“140,000 SMEs “de-banked” last year – why could I have been de-banked?”

“What are the proposed new laws aimed at preventing de-banking?”

“Why the proposed new laws to try and prevent de-banking to not go far enough”.

“Am I entitled to a basic bank account in the UK?”

“How to challenge crypto-related bank account closures”

What can I do to try and challenge a wrongly-imposed CIFAS marker

We are also being increasingly approached by individuals who feel that a financial institution has wrongly imposed a CIFAS marker in their name.

If you have always acted in full compliance with the relevant bank account’s Terms and Conditions and all other applicable legal rules and regulations, then you should have a good basis to challenge the bank’s decision to implement any CIFAS markers.

A strong challenge will often involve demonstrating through evidence that you have not breached the bank’s Terms and Conditions or any rules and regulations, and that all transactions were at all times carried out in full compliance will all applicable laws and regulations.

In a previous blog we examined what a CIFAS marker is and how to try and get it removed and also what you can do if a CIFAS marker has been wrongly imposed.

We have also recently examined Challenging a crypto-related CIFAS Marker: what you can do.

NAVIGATING FINANCIAL INSTITUTION RELATED CHALLENGES

Adverse information on compliance databases

We also being increasingly approached by individuals who feel that incorrect and/or inaccurate data about them stored in compliance databases is having an adverse effect on their relationship with financial institutions and are facing subsequent issues, such as bank accounts being closed and difficulties in opening a bank account.

We have also written a series of blogs on a basic overview of the main functions of compliance databases like World-Check and how you can correct information about yourself on such databases.

Updated: 7 July 2025

HOW GHERSON CAN ASSIST

Gherson’s regulatory, white-collar and investigations team are highly experienced in providing advice on what you can do if your bank freezes or closes your account.  This includes assisting you in submitting a request under data protection legislation, otherwise known as a Data Subject Access Request, to ascertain what information banks and other financial institutions may be holding on you and their decision making, and then analysing the response and assisting with any appropriate challenge.

If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice; send us an email at enquiries@gherson.co.uk or, alternatively, follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to stay up to date with the latest developments.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice.  Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position.  Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog.  For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson.  Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

©Gherson 2025

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