Not upheld: scam - failure to prevent/recover funds from task-based job scam involving cryptocurrency complaint against Revolut Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Miss M lost over £7,000 to a task-based job scam after purchasing cryptocurrency through her Revolut account in June 2026. She complained that Revolut should refund her loss. Revolut had conducted fraud prevention checks with warnings about scam risks and asked Miss M about the purpose of her payments, but Miss M provided inaccurate information, selecting 'family member/friend' and 'other account' rather than 'job opportunity'. The ombudsman found that while Revolut's intervention was appropriate and proportionate, Miss M's inaccurate responses prevented Revolut from identifying the true scam risk. The ombudsman held that Miss M should have answered honestly regardless of whether she suspected fraud, and therefore Revolut could not reasonably have prevented the loss. The complaint was not upheld and no refund was directed.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Revolut should have carried out additional checks given the frequency and value of payments to a crypto provider, Revolut did conduct appropriate fraud prevention interventions with clear warnings and questions. Crucially, Miss M failed to provide accurate information when asked about the purpose of payments, selecting 'family member/friend' and 'other account' rather than 'job opportunity'. This inaccuracy prevented Revolut from understanding the true circumstances and identifying the job scam risk. The ombudsman held that Miss M should have understood the importance of answering honestly regardless of whether she knew she was being scammed. Therefore, Revolut could not reasonably have prevented the loss through proportionate intervention, as causation was not established - the inaccurate responses broke the chain of causation between any failure to intervene and the loss suffered.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website