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

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S lost money to a cryptocurrency investment scam after responding to a social media advert and being guided by an individual named 'Michael'. When he attempted to withdraw a larger amount, the platform disappeared and he realised he had been scammed. Revolut initially declined to reimburse him, and Mr S complained to the FOS. The ombudsman found that although Mr S authorised the payments believing them to be legitimate, Revolut had intervened appropriately by stopping a £4,500 payment and providing relevant warnings about cryptocurrency investment scams during a phone call. Despite these warnings, Mr S continued making payments just minutes later, suggesting further intervention would have been ineffective. The complaint was not upheld and no reimbursement was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the legal starting position that account providers must process authorised payments, meaning Mr S is not automatically entitled to a refund. However, the ombudsman also considered regulatory requirements for firms to protect customers from fraud through monitoring and intervention. The ombudsman found that Revolut's intervention was proportionate to the risk level, that the firm asked open questions to understand the purpose of payments, and that the specific warnings provided were particularly relevant to Mr S's situation (moving funds to wallets he didn't control, fake platforms showing profits, and withdrawal restrictions). The ombudsman noted that Mr S was not fully honest during the phone call and that despite receiving the warning, he chose to continue making payments just minutes later, suggesting that further intervention would likely have been ineffective.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website