A businessman in Sussex is in a dispute with Metro Bank over more than £14,000 that was stolen from his account to buy credits for the AI chatbot Claude. Zoli Rutter had approximately £15 per month debited from his account for genuine use of the chatbot, which he employed for business invoice analysis. Fraudsters exploited this existing payment arrangement by using Mr. Rutter's card details to purchase additional credits on the platform.
The incident began on June 19th when Metro Bank flagged a £90.90 transaction and messaged Mr. Rutter to confirm its legitimacy. He responded that he had not authorised the payment. While the bank blocked this single transaction, it did not immediately freeze Mr. Rutter's card or account. Subsequently, a series of fraudulent payments, ranging from £90 to £200 each, continued to be processed over the following day. Metro Bank eventually blocked the card fully the day after the scam commenced, but by that time, over £14,000 had been taken.
A spokesperson for Metro Bank stated that due to the "complex nature of the fraud," some payments were processed before the card could be fully disabled. The bank has since provided Mr. Rutter with a temporary refund while it pursues a chargeback dispute with Anthropic, the company behind Claude. Metro Bank has also informed Mr. Rutter that he did not receive the expected standard of service and offered him £300 in compensation. Mr. Rutter intends to escalate his complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
Anthropic has indicated that a coordinated group used Mr. Rutter's card details to purchase Claude credits and stated it has found no evidence that the compromised details originated from its own systems. The company has banned the user associated with the fraudulent activity and has directly refunded Mr. Rutter. As a result, Metro Bank's interim refund is expected to be reclaimed. Anthropic advises anyone who has been charged fraudulently to contact their support channel for a refund.
This case highlights a growing trend of AI tools becoming targets for financial crime. In May, a user in the United States reported similar fraudulent purchases of gift cards for Claude using his financial details, with comparable accounts emerging on online forums such as Reddit. Reports from March 2026 detailed a malware campaign known as "Claude Fraud," which exploited the Claude.ai brand through Google Ads and fake landing pages to deliver infostealer malware to developers.
Metro Bank has been actively implementing AI-driven tools to combat fraud. In April 2025, the bank launched its "Metro Bank Scam Checker," powered by AI company Ask Silver, which allows customers to submit images of suspicious communications for analysis via WhatsApp. The bank also employs a financial crime platform from SymphonyAI, which uses AI to monitor transactions and screen payments, aiming to reduce alerts and improve response times. However, these measures did not prevent the fraud in Mr. Rutter's case.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) expects money lost to unauthorised card fraud to be returned to customers within one working day. The outcome of Mr. Rutter's case with the Financial Ombudsman may set a precedent for how partial transaction blocks are treated under these regulations.