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

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs S was victim of an investment scam where a scammer convinced her to invest in cryptocurrency through a fake trading platform. She obtained seven loans, transferred funds through Bank R to her Revolut account, and exchanged approximately £9,000 into cryptocurrency between March and April 2025. Revolut intervened with warnings on three occasions but Mrs S did not disclose the broker's involvement. The ombudsman found that while Revolut should have questioned the initial £9,000 exchange, it would not have uncovered the scam based on Mrs S's responses, and that Revolut took appropriate fraud prevention steps. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While Revolut should have questioned the £9,000 exchange on 12 March 2025 as it was out of character, the ombudsman found that based on Mrs S's responses during subsequent interventions on 19 March, 26 March, and 11 April 2025, Revolut would not have uncovered the scam because Mrs S did not disclose the broker's involvement. The ombudsman was satisfied that Mrs S was asked probing questions, given relevant warnings about cryptocurrency investment scams, and that Revolut took appropriate steps. Cryptocurrency withdrawals fall outside the ombudsman's jurisdiction as cryptocurrency operations are not regulated activities.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website