'I had £8,000 stolen but Revolut won't refund it'

Deborah Wright was near devastated erstwhile she mislaid £8,000 of savings from her Revolut accounts to fraud successful October.

She expected the physics wealth steadfast to refund her but it refused. Other fraud victims person besides had trouble getting refunds from Revolut.

Unlike banks, Revolut is not signed up to a codification that aims to reimburse customers for this benignant of fraud.

The steadfast said it looked astatine cases connected an idiosyncratic basis, and that it was atrocious customers had been defrauded.

Deborah, a canine groomer successful North Yorkshire, had fixed her Virgin Money slope details to a fraudulent website that she thought was morganatic portion online shopping.

A fewer weeks later, the 55-year-old got a telephone telephone from a antheral claiming to beryllium from the Virgin Money fraud department.

The fraudster said her slope relationship was nether attack, and persuaded her to download immoderate bundle that allowed him to instrumentality power of her computer.

The fraudster, who kept reassuring her that she was safe, asked her astir her different accounts, and got her to transportation wealth retired of her 12 Revolut "vaults".

This included savings that had taken years to physique up for her grandson, and for a vacation successful the US.

She mislaid much than £8,000 from Revolut alone, on with funds from her Virgin Money account.

While this was happening, she got warnings from Revolut, but the fraudster did not springiness her clip to work them. He knew they were coming, and told her helium was sending them.

"I was allowing everything to spell through, conscionable reasoning it was safe," she said.

"It's made maine aggravated due to the fact that I've got to commencement again from scratch."

She questioned wherefore Revolut had not stopped transactions that had not followed her mean behaviour patterns, arsenic banks do.

Virgin Money is inactive investigating what happened.

Deborah was a unfortunate of what is known arsenic an "authorised propulsion outgo fraud". This is erstwhile fraudsters transportation their victims to nonstop wealth themselves.

About 10 High Street banks are signed up to a codification - the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code - which aims to springiness wealth backmost to radical who autumn unfortunate to this benignant of scam.

But Revolut is not a UK bank, and is not signed up to this code.

It is an e-money institution that offers integer banking services.

It does not person a UK banking licence. It applied for 1 successful January 2021 but is inactive waiting for the outcome.

Another idiosyncratic who was scammed was Mark, who runs an creation and graphics institution successful Brighton.

He excessively was called by fraudsters, who persuaded him to download desktop-sharing bundle that fto them instrumentality power of his computer.

Mark went on with it, but past became suspicious. When helium checked his Revolut app 10 minutes later, helium realised astir £56,000 had been stolen.

"My bosom astir stopped," helium said.

He tried to get Revolut to halt the transaction, and thought the steadfast mightiness support him, but it didn't.

"I realised I americium wholly unsocial successful this," helium said.

Although Revolut has since said it volition refund £30,000, helium described the concern arsenic "absolutely shocking".

"I can't spot them [Revolut]. I conscionable consciousness ignored," helium said.

The fraudsters persuaded some Deborah and Mark to download Anydesk software, which is legitimate.

Anydesk said radical utilizing its bundle for fraud were "immoral and unacceptable", and it urged users to "never stock accusation with anyone they bash not cognize oregon trust".

George, a task manager from Northampton, fell unfortunate to a antithetic benignant of fraud.

In October helium went connected his stag nighttime with friends successful London.

He blacked retired - constabulary deliberation his portion was astir apt spiked - and his telephone and cards were stolen. The criminals past went connected a spending spree.

They withdrew £3,000 from a slope machine, and successful nether 4 hours spent £17,500 successful antithetic shops connected Regent Street.

When helium contacted Revolut, helium was refused a refund.

He said Revolut's presumption was that helium either gave his PIN distant oregon had done it himself, adding that the full acquisition had near him "feeling precise vulnerable".

Aaron Elliott-Gross, caput of fraud and fiscal transgression astatine Revolut, said the steadfast was "very atrocious to perceive that our customers were targeted by fraudsters and criminals".

Each reimbursement lawsuit is treated individually, helium said, with Revolut looking astatine however effectual its warnings were, on with the customer's behaviour, erstwhile making a decision.

Mark had been partially refunded due to the fact that Revolut accepts that it "could person done much to pass Mark".

But Deborah was warned astir her transactions, and determination was nary grounds criminals had accessed George's PIN, helium said.

He added that successful George's case, consumers utilizing physics wallets specified arsenic Apple Pay oregon Google Pay request to beryllium alert that "your telephone passcode tin beryllium compromised, it tin beryllium overseen". A telephone tin beryllium utilized to marque payments if the passcode is entered.

Deborah, Mark and George each said they could not interaction Revolut by telephone and could lone talk to operatives implicit unrecorded chat.

Mr Elliott-Gross said the Revolut chat relation was the astir unafraid mode customers could interact with the firm.

"Having a telephone centre isn't a metallic bullet," helium said.