Not upheld: scam / fraud losses - failure to prevent payments complaint against Revolut Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B lost £30,490 to a romance and investment scam after being coached by a scammer to send funds from his Revolut account to a cryptocurrency wallet and then to a fraudulent trading platform. Revolut intervened with warnings on the first two payments in November 2022 when Mr B stated he was investing, but did not intervene on subsequent high-value payments on 27 and 29 November. The ombudsman found Revolut's interventions were not proportionate to the identified risks and that the firm should have probed further on the later payments. However, the ombudsman concluded that even with better interventions, Mr B would not have been prevented from losing money because he was too deeply under the scammer's spell, had been extensively coached to bypass warnings, distrusted financial institutions, and showed no hesitation despite recognizing the opportunity seemed too good to be true. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While Revolut should have intervened proportionately on the high-value payments on 27 and 29 November 2022, the ombudsman found on balance of probabilities that better interventions would not have prevented Mr B's losses. The evidence strongly showed Mr B was too deeply under the scammer's spell, having been extensively coached on how to bypass warnings, distrusting financial institutions' advice, and showing no hesitation towards the scam despite recognizing it seemed too good to be true. Mr B's statement that he was investing was itself part of the scammer's coaching, and he would likely have continued to hide the true nature of the payments. The ombudsman rejected arguments that intervention would have prompted Mr B to consult family or verify the investment, noting he had already discussed it with his mother who expressed discomfort but Mr B proceeded anyway.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website