Revolut customers scammed out of £180k, police say

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The States of Jersey Police asked islanders to remain vigilant

Police are warning people using to be vigilant following a significant increase in fraud and scam reports involving financial technology and apps.

The States of Jersey Police said 75% of all scam crimes reported on the island over four weeks had involved Revolut accounts, with victims collectively losing about £180,000.

A spokesperson for Revolut said it took fraud and the risk of its customers being targeted by impersonation scams "extremely seriously".

"We urge customers to remain vigilant when receiving unexpected calls and remind them that Revolut will never ask them to share passwords, passcodes or security information or transfer money to a 'safe account'," the spokesperson said.

Police said the majority of reported incidents followed a common pattern where victims received a telephone call from individual claiming to be from a bank fraud department security team or Revolut support.

Police said: "The caller tells the victim that there has been a suspicious transaction on their account or that their account is at risk of being compromised.

"Victims are then persuaded to provide security information, transfer funds, approve transactions, or grant access to their accounts."

Officers said, in addition to telephone-based scams, they had also seen several cases where customer accounts had been compromised, resulting in unauthorised access and financial losses.

The spokesperson for Revolut said: "We are sorry to hear of any instance where our customers have been targeted by ruthless and sophisticated criminals.

"Anyone who believes they may have been targeted should end the call immediately and contact Revolut through the secure in-app chat."

They said the company continued to invest heavily in its sophisticated fraud-prevention systems.

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