An elderly couple who lost their £80,000 savings to a fraudster pretending to be backed by Martin Lewis claim their Revolut account holder told them to use a food bank when they asked for their money.
Pensioners Barbara and Ewan Atkins*, 78, paid nearly £80,000 to a scammer who told them they were investing in bitcoin and made them use the popular e-money platform Revolut to avoid fraud checks.
The scammer explained how to set up accounts with Wise, Binance, and Revolut, which the pair had never heard of, before receiving instructions to avoid initiating fraud prevention processes.
But when they tried to withdraw their money and were told they would have to pay more, the couple realized they had been scammed. They told their daughter and son-in-law, who contacted the banks to report the fraud.
But Revolut’s response left much to be desired, the family said, especially when a response to a complaint included a link to a food bank website and the Age UK website.
The retirees were convinced the scammer was a genuine investment expert, believing the investment was backed by consumer journalist Martin Lewis (pictured)
Revolut’s response left much to be desired, the family said, especially when a response to a complaint included a link to a food bank website and the Age UK website
It comes as senior industry insiders have raised serious concerns about Revolut’s ability to tackle fraud and money laundering cases, saying the electronic money institution, which is not a UK-based bank, is the “vehicle of choice’ is for fraudsters.
Mr and Mrs Atkins returned to the UK from France a year ago. In late February, they saw an ad for Bitcoin online, seemingly endorsed by consumer journalist Martin Lewis, and thought it would be a good opportunity to stretch their savings a bit further.
They clicked through and got a call from a man calling himself Michael Hampton who had a profile online that they thought looked like a “dynamic international investor.”
He told them that their bank, Barclays, would question the large transactions and that the couple should tell them they were planning to make a large purchase.
Barclays flagged the payments as unusual and called the couple to make sure they wanted to transfer the money.
The scammer then talked the Atkins into setting up an account with Wise, a currency exchange service founded in 2011, so they could invest in bitcoin.
They sent £10,000 to the account, which was flagged by Wise and the account closed.
The fraudster then persuaded the retirees to create a Revolut account and told them that only the first payment would be marked in the system.
Over the next few days, the pair made 14 trades between £3,000 and £5,000, encouraged every step of the way by the supposed ‘investment manager’, who called them repeatedly each day.
The first transaction triggered a warning message from Revolut, as the scammer had said, but none of the other transactions were challenged.
The pensioners were updated daily on their nearly £65,000 ‘investment’, which they were told had nearly doubled in value in just four weeks.
But when they tried to withdraw the money, they were told by the fraudsters to pay £10,000 for capital gains tax.
It was then that Mr. and Mrs. Atkins realized they had been cheated and told their daughter and son-in-law what had happened.
But it wasn’t until they contacted the Barclays fraud team that they realized how much money had been lost.
Barclays told the retirees that since it warned them about the payments and called them before the money was out of their account, it would not reimburse them for the lost money.
Revolut first told the pair there was “no trace” of fraudulent activity, then said they wouldn’t be refunding them – and sent some links, hoping “this information helps you understand the situation and stay safe in the future.” to stay’ ‘.
Revolut was founded in 2015 by former Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers trader Nik Storonsky, 38, and Vlad Yatsenko, 39 (file image)
Their son-in-law and daughter said they were “disgusted” at how dismissive Revolut had been.
They said they couldn’t believe the fraud processes on the online platform hadn’t picked up the unusual payments faster and that Revolut’s initial response said they weren’t fraudulent.
Their daughter added: ‘It’s a permanent weight in our minds. We were also shocked that my parents had been defrauded in this way.’
She said sending a link to a food bank showed Revolut’s lack of interest, callousness and lax approach.
“Everybody knows about food banks, so we didn’t have to see that as a link from Revolut.”
Barbara and Ewan have taken their case to the financial ombudsman.
A senior industry insider, a director of compliance at a major company, said Revolut is the “vehicle of choice” for money launderers and fraudsters (file image)
A senior industry insider, a director of compliance at a major company, said Revolut is the “vehicle of choice” for money launderers and fraudsters.
They expressed concern that companies were struggling to spot potentially fraudulent accounts with the electronic money institution.
Recent figures for Revolut suggest it is struggling to protect customers from fraud, with the number of crime reports to Action Fraud exploding to 7,198 last year, an 81 percent increase from 3,975 in 2021.
That was the fourth-highest figure for a company offering checking account-like services, behind only Barclays, Lloyds and Santander.
The data is also good for cases where the fraudsters are funneling money through Revolut accounts, or when an identity has been stolen and a bogus account created.
Revolut, which offers overdraft services but is not a bank in the UK, announced in early March that it would be getting its banking license ‘soon’.
Revolut differs from rival banks in this sense, which are relatively small retail banks set up to compete with larger, more traditional financial institutions.
Revolut — worth £28 billion at its most recent valuation — reported its first-ever profit of £26 million in February for 2021, as revenue tripled to £636 million amid the cryptocurrency boom.
The challenger bank is not affiliated with the UK’s Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM), a voluntary agreement between banks that they will repay victims of certain types of fraud.
A spokesperson for Wise said: ‘We are truly sorry to hear of the scam that Mr and Mrs Atkins have fallen victim to.
“We are currently investigating the matter and will be contacting them directly with updates on the remaining funds.”
Gareth Shaw, deputy editor of Martin Lewis’ website MoneySavingExpert.com, said: ‘Unfortunately, this is similar to scams we’ve seen for years.
Please know – and spread the word if you can – that neither MoneySavingExpert nor Martin Lewis ever endorse any product or investment.
“Here at MSE, we find it so frustrating and disheartening that many scammers get away with it. That’s why MSE and Martin Lewis have always tried to close their routes to the general public and raise awareness through campaigns.’
A spokesman for Barclays said: ‘We have every sympathy for our client who was the victim of a sophisticated investment scam.
“We urge everyone to remain vigilant for fraudulent investment opportunities.
“Take steps to convince yourself that the person or company you are investing with is legit and who you think they are, and check the FCA website and warning list to make sure they are a regulated financial company before you transfer money.
“Remember, if the investment seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
A Revolut spokesperson said: “We are deeply sorry that Mr. and Mrs. Atkins were targeted by ruthless and highly sophisticated criminals.
“We take our responsibility to protect and support our customers very seriously and have made significant investments in our systems, processes and people to ensure our customers are safe.
“When making an investment, we urge everyone to take steps to ensure that the person they are sending money to is legitimate. We encourage clients to verify that the investment company is a genuine and regulated company. If in doubt, seek reliable independent financial advice first.’
The electronic money institution said it was “deeply concerned” about fraud involving false advertisements on social media and phony phone calls.
*Names have been changed to protect the identities of the scam victims.
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