Banking giant JPMorgan confirmed that its retail subsidiary, Chase, is banning its customers in the UK from making cryptocurrency transactions.

UK customers will not be able to buy cryptocurrency with Chase debit cards or transfer money to cryptocurrency sites from Chase accounts starting October 16, the announcement added.

Chase said Decryption in an email Tuesday that this was done “to protect our customers and keep their money safe.”

The bank said in a note to clients that the move was due to “an increase in the number of cryptocurrency scams targeting UK customers.”

“If you still want to invest in cryptocurrency assets, you can try using a bank or other provider, but be careful because you may not be able to get the money back if the payment ends up being related to fraud or a scam,” he added.

A spokesperson went on to say in an email to Decryption that “cryptocurrency fraud is part of a wider fraud ‘epidemic’, accounting for more than 40% of all reported crimes in England and Wales last year.”

Banks have struggled with how to handle customers buying cryptocurrencies. In 2020, Chase US was the subject of a lawsuit alleging that in 2018 it charged excessive fees to customers who used Chase credit cards to purchase cryptocurrency assets. The lawsuit was ultimately settled out of court for $2.5 million.

At the time, Chase Bank argued that cryptocurrency purchases were “cash-like transactions” as defined in its terms of service and were therefore subject to cash withdrawal fees. But the judge ruled that the plaintiff had successfully demonstrated that “cash-like” transactions only apply to fiat currency transactions.

But the bank and its parent company, JPMorgan, have not completely ruled out cryptocurrencies as a line of business. Last fall, JPMorgan hired a new cryptocurrency policy officer and filed a trademark application for a cryptocurrency wallet.

Many other banks have cracked down on UK customers buying cryptocurrencies.

Banking giants Nationwide and HSBC have set daily limits for buyers and restricted credit cards from making cryptocurrency purchases.