Not upheld: scam refund - alleged failure to detect and prevent fraudulent payments complaint against Revolut Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Ms L complained that Revolut Ltd refused to refund money she lost to an investment scam involving two cryptocurrency payments. Revolut did not uphold the complaint, and the FOS investigator agreed. The ombudsman upheld this decision, finding that the payments were not suspicious enough to warrant Revolut making additional checks or enquiries before processing them. Although Ms L was undoubtedly a victim of fraud, the ombudsman found no failings on Revolut's part, particularly given that Ms L had disclosed when opening her account that it may be used for cryptocurrency payments.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman considered regulatory expectations and good industry practice regarding fraud detection. Having reviewed the account and payments, the ombudsman was not persuaded that the payments were suspicious enough to warrant Revolut making enquiries before processing them. The fact that the payments were for cryptocurrency transfers does not automatically make them suspicious, particularly when there are no other concerning factors and Ms L had already disclosed potential cryptocurrency use when opening the account.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website