Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Revolut Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S lost £10,487 to a task-based job scam between May and July 2025, making payments via his Revolut account to a cryptocurrency provider. He was coached by the scammer on how to answer Revolut's fraud prevention questions and provided inaccurate responses, failing to disclose he was being guided by the scammer or that payments were job-related. Revolut provided warnings and asked direct questions about the payment purpose, but Mr S did not reveal the true circumstances. The ombudsman found Revolut not responsible because the initial payments were modest and unremarkable, Revolut provided appropriate warnings, and Mr S was under the scammer's influence and willing to provide false information to process payments, so further intervention would likely have been ineffective.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While firms should intervene in unusual transactions, the initial payments were modest and to a legitimate cryptocurrency provider, which would not have appeared unusual. Although the £3,500 payment was significantly higher, Revolut did provide appropriate scam warnings on subsequent transactions. Mr S did not disclose the true nature of the payments (job-related and guided by scammer) when asked directly, instead providing inaccurate information as coached by the scammer. Even if Revolut had intervened further, Mr S was under the scammer's influence and had demonstrated willingness to provide false information to process payments, so further warnings would likely not have prevented the loss. Recovery was impossible as funds went through an account in Mr S's name.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website