People often talk about being “blacklisted” by banks, but there’s no single official blacklist. What does exist is fraud-prevention data — most notably from CIFAS — that lenders check, and which can affect your applications. Here’s how it really works.
What CIFAS is
CIFAS runs the UK’s National Fraud Database. Its members — banks, lenders and other organisations — record and check markers relating to suspected or confirmed fraud. A marker on your file can lead to applications being declined or accounts being reviewed, even though it isn’t a credit score and isn’t held by the credit reference agencies.
Protective registration
Not all markers are bad news: if you’ve been a victim of identity theft, you can pay for a protective registration with CIFAS, which asks lenders to take extra steps to check it’s really you — adding friction to protect you.
How to find out — and challenge — a marker
You have the right to see what data is held about you. You can make a subject access request to CIFAS (free) to find out if there’s a marker and why. If you believe a marker is wrong — for example you were actually the victim, not the perpetrator — you can challenge it with the organisation that placed it, and complain to the Financial Ombudsman if it isn’t resolved.
What to do next
If you’ve been refused credit or an account unexpectedly, check your credit file and make a subject access request to CIFAS. If you’ve been targeted by fraud, see our scams and mis-selling page.
Sources
CIFAS (National Fraud Database; protective registration; subject access requests); Financial Ombudsman Service. Reviewed: 3 September 2026.