I desperately need help after falling victim to a scam resulting in my Revolut business account being emptied of £40,000. The company is refusing a refund.
It happened in February while I was staying up a mountain in Italy with no internet and a poor mobile phone signal. I declined a call from a hidden number, then took a call from my accountant asking me to pick up the phone to Revolut because there were “some suspicious attempts to access my account”.
When they called back, I answered, believing I was talking to Revolut’s anti-fraud staff, not least because the person had full access to my account details and was able to quote past transactions, even verification codes sent to confirm them.
I was told they were contacting me as someone using a suspicious device was attempting to log into my account. After I confirmed it was not me, they said they would restrict access to my account. As part of a “security check”, they sent two verification codes, which I read back to them.
I now know I was talking to a fraudster who used these codes to set up new payees, and to go on and make 38 withdrawals from my account in a matter of minutes, cleaning out my account.
Since then, I have been trying to get my money returned. I have no idea how the scammers were able to gain access to my account, and I’m shocked that Revolut’s security appears to have been bypassed.
I did not hand over any personal login details to anyone, so I don’t understand how this happened.
Revolut is refusing to share with me the selfie they say was allegedly used to access the account. They also stopped trying to recover my funds after just 10 days.
The Metropolitan police are currently conducting an investigation.
I feel the company has held me entirely responsible for the fraud, without looking into its own role into how its systems were apparently overcome.
What would you do in my shoes?
LG, by email
This letter should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who has a significant sum held in a Revolut account. My advice would be to move your balance to a conventional bank as quickly as possible – one that will probably refund you if you fall victim to a sophisticated scam such as this. Revolut still does not have a UK banking licence.
It has confirmed to me that it will not be refunding you.
Revolut is not signed up to the contingent reimbursement model code (CRM code), a voluntary code for banks and financial firms that outlines when defrauded customers should get back their cash. As part of this, banks have promised to refund scam victims who have not been unduly negligent.
Revolut says: “We are sorry to hear of LG’s case, and any instance where our customers have been targeted by ruthless and sophisticated criminals. Each potential fraud case concerning a Revolut customer is carefully investigated and assessed independently of other cases.
“We take a data-driven approach to identify scam activity and use sophisticated fraud modelling for inbound and outbound transactions to protect customers from falling victim to fraud, including clear, unskippable warnings and direct interventions by our specialist fraud prevention teams. Revolut will never phone you without first confirming via our secure in-app chat.” In effect, it believes you were negligent.
That’s all very well, but the number of complaints to Action Fraud by Revolut customers has risen from 567 in February 2023 to 1,086 for February 2024.
What would I do in your shoes? Take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which, I suspect, will, after a long wait, find in your favour. And given the large sum involved, you may want to hire a solicitor to help bring the claim.
Sarah Spruce, a partner with TLW Solicitors, told me her law firm was helping 90 Revolut fraud victims bring claims against the company.
Other customers should take note of how this company operates.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at [email protected] or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions.