‘I lost £165k to fraud in an hour’ - customers say they were let down by Revolut

A antheral who had £165,000 stolen from his Revolut concern relationship by fraudsters has told BBC Panorama helium believes the company’s information measures failed to forestall the theft.

He says criminals managed to bypass the ID verification process to summation entree to his account.

So far, Revolut has refused to refund this money.

The BBC has recovered that Revolut was named successful much reports of fraud successful the past fiscal twelvemonth than immoderate of the large High Street banks.

The e-money steadfast - which has not yet been granted afloat presumption arsenic a slope - says it takes fraud incredibly earnestly and that it has “robust controls” to conscionable its ineligible and regulatory obligations.

Revolut is among a fig of caller digital-only fiscal institutions that connection each their services online oregon done an app - determination are nary branches to spell to.

The steadfast has grown rapidly and amassed much than 45 cardinal customers worldwide, of which 9 cardinal are successful the UK. It astir tripled its gross to £1.8bn successful 2023. Its accounts are speedy to unfastened and connection competitory overseas speech rates successful an easy-to-use app.

These were the features that attracted Jack - who runs an planetary concern and needs to clasp aggregate antithetic currencies - to Revolut.

Jack, who asked america not to usage his surname, told america helium was besides reassured by the information features Revolut beforehand successful their advertising.

In February, Jack was successful a co-working abstraction erstwhile helium received a telephone telephone from a scammer pretending to beryllium from Revolut. He was told helium was being called due to the fact that his relationship mightiness person been compromised done being connected shared Wi-Fi.

Jack was tricked into handing implicit capable accusation to let the scammers to enactment his Revolut relationship onto their device. This meant they could spot each his erstwhile transactions, including a acquisition astatine the online retailer Etsy that morning.

While Jack was inactive connected the telephone to the scammers, a substance connection from Revolut arrived, asking him to corroborate the nonstop aforesaid magnitude helium had spent - £21.98 - by typing successful a six-digit information code.

He said, “Yes, that was me,” and work retired the codification to the scammers.

What Jack didn’t realise was that they had acceptable up their ain relationship - besides called Etsy - and by sharing the codification Revolut had sent him, helium was authorising a caller outgo to their fake relationship instead.

Two akin texts followed to authorise payments of tiny amounts to 2 further fake accounts, called “Revolut fees” and “Revolut fees care”. Jack besides approved these – which meant helium had been tricked into mounting up 3 caller payees.

This opened the floodgates and thousands of pounds began to alert out.

As soon arsenic Jack realised helium was being scammed, helium contacted Revolut - but determination was nary dedicated helpline, conscionable a chat relation heavy wrong the app.

"I messaged them saying, ‘I’ve been scammed, delight frost my account,’” helium told the BBC.

It took 23 minutes to scope the close section that could frost the account, during which clip different £67,000 had been taken.

Jack is present retired of pouch by £165,000. He thinks Revolut’s systems failed him successful respective ways.

He believes criminals managed to bypass facial-recognition bundle to summation entree to his relationship connected their device. If an relationship is acceptable up connected a caller device, Revolut asks for a selfie, which Jack says helium did not provide.

Jack says helium asked Revolut to amusement him the representation utilized to authorised the caller device. They yet told him that it wasn't stored successful their system, truthful determination was nary mode of proving what the fraudsters had done, oregon what photograph was used.

Panorama investigated this evident vulnerability and recovered that it appeared to person been fixed.

Jack besides believes the information that 137 idiosyncratic payments were being made to 3 caller payees successful the abstraction of an hour, should person raised concerns with Revolut.

Most banks and fiscal institutions show customers’ accounts for antithetic activity.

“If idiosyncratic is abruptly processing a immense magnitude of transactions and a ton of payments to a caller account, it is thing that is simply a reddish emblem - and banks should typically commencement to analyse immoderate of that behaviour,” says Nina Kerkez, a fraud specializer astatine information analytics institution LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

“[They should] telephone their customer, nonstop them a substance message, prosecute successful immoderate mode to guarantee those transactions are legitimate.”

Last year, the UK’s nationalist reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime Action Fraud, received astir 10,000 reports of fraud successful which Revolut was named, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) petition submitted by Panorama.

That is 2,000 much than Barclays, 1 of the biggest banks successful the UK, and treble that of Monzo, a rival of akin size to Revolut.

Panorama spoke to 8 erstwhile employees to effort to recognize Revolut’s enactment culture, and 2 issues came up again and again - Revolut’s insatiable appetite for growth, and a high-pressure environment.

“Protecting Revolut from being utilized for fiscal transgression ever played 2nd fiddle to the tendency to motorboat caller products and to get existing customers to usage products more,” an insider, who wished to stay anonymous, told us.

Fraud is simply a occupation for each banks and scams proceed to nett hundreds of millions adjacent portion the exertion to decision them improves.

In bid to support customers, fiscal companies bash other checks but sometimes these information steps tin get successful the mode of a creaseless lawsuit experience.

Revolut says it has a “high show culture” with an “expectation to present bully lawsuit outcomes” and that each caller merchandise launches impact broad hazard appraisal and governance support processes.

It besides says it has “invested heavily” successful its fiscal transgression prevention team, which present makes up much than a 3rd of its full planetary workforce.

Britain’s Newest Bank: How Safe Is Your Money?

Reporter Catrin Nye investigates the stories of Revolut customers who accidental scammers took tens of thousands of pounds from their accounts, and that Revolut failed to support them.

Watch connected BBC iPlayer or connected BBC One connected Monday 14 October astatine 20:00 (20:30 successful Wales and Northern Ireland)

Revolut says it cannot remark connected Jack’s lawsuit arsenic it is being looked astatine by the Financial Ombudsman Service.

In 2023 the ombudsman received astir 3,500 complaints astir Revolut, much than immoderate different slope oregon e-money firm.

“[This] shows that really Revolut aren't doing capable to enactment successful this area,” says Rob Lilley-Jones, from user radical Which?

He says that Which? does not urge banking ample sums of wealth with the firm.

“They person a way grounds of not reimbursing radical who autumn unfortunate to fraud oregon find themselves successful this incredibly hard situation, [and] of wealth being taken from accounts adjacent aft scam enactment has been reported.”

Revolut says that each imaginable fraud lawsuit is cautiously investigated truthful it tin measure the afloat circumstances and marque the astir informed decision.

Earlier this period caller rules came successful to marque each banks and physics wealth institutions reimburse victims of fraud.

The bulk of scam victims volition present beryllium reimbursed their wealth automatically up to the worth of £85,000, with refunds divided 50-50 betwixt sending and receiving firms.

This could beryllium costly for Revolut.

“We perceive from customers consistently that they're told to acceptable up Revolut accounts erstwhile they are becoming the unfortunate of a scam,” says Will Ayles from Refundee, a institution specialising successful fraud recovery.

“It mightiness beryllium harmless to gully the decision from that, that fraud victims are told to acceptable up Revolut accounts due to the fact that fraudsters find it easier to determination wealth done Revolut than immoderate different bank.”

When idiosyncratic is tricked into transferring wealth to a fraudster it is known arsenic an authorised propulsion outgo (APP) fraud. It's the astir communal benignant of fiscal scam successful the UK.

Last year, figures from the Payment Systems Regulator amusement that for each cardinal pounds paid into Revolut accounts, £756 was from APP fraud.

That is much than 10 times the magnitude for Barclays and 4 times much than Monzo.

Revolut says it takes fraud incredibly seriously, and has approaches to tackle it, including delaying payments, “to let customers to stop, deliberation and implicit further checks”.

It besides says it has precocious announced “a caller biometric recognition feature” and “an precocious AI-scam detection diagnostic that protects customers against paper scams”.

In July this year, the UK banking regulator granted Revolut a provisional banking licence, and it is present connected its mode to becoming a fully-fledged bank.

This means that if Revolut were to spell bust, customers’ deposits would beryllium guaranteed up to £85,000 per person.

Until then, it volition proceed to run arsenic an physics wealth instauration oregon e-money firm.

However, becoming a slope means it volition beryllium capable to widen recognition to customers via recognition cards, overdrafts and mortgages.

“This means the stakes are higher for their customers if they’re targeted by a scammer,” says Rob Lilley-Jones.

“I deliberation determination mightiness beryllium a governmental constituent to Revolut’s licensing, due to the fact that it's becoming of a size to situation High Street banks,” says Frances Coppola, a fiscal writer and adept connected banking risks and regulations.

“I deliberation nary authorities would privation to person thing of that size playing accelerated and escaped with the rules.” However, she adds: “I accidental you could question, fixed determination are truthful galore complaints, whether Revolut should person a licence.”

The Treasury says the determination connected whether to assistance Revolut a banking licence lies with the autarkic regulators. They declined to remark to Panorama.

Revolut says that it abides by the aforesaid regulatory standards arsenic immoderate High Street bank, and it is atrocious to perceive of immoderate lawsuit wherever customers person been targeted by criminals.

It says it chopped fraud by 20% past twelvemonth but acknowledges “there is ever much to do”.

• Customers tin kick astir immoderate regulated steadfast to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which tin settee disputes and bid firms to wage compensation
• Mandatory Reimbursement Requirement regulations were brought successful connected 7 October 2024
• They volition screen the immense bulk of UK wealth transfers up to £85,000, with the objection of planetary transfers oregon those involving cryptocurrencies
• The caller measures support individuals, microenterprises - with less than 10 employees - and charities with an yearly income of little than £1m
• BBC Action Line has much resources