An illuminated wall motto, "Never Settle," in Revolut's London office. One of the bank's core values, alongside "Think Deeper" and "Get It Done."
Photographer: Vivian Wan/Bloomberg
Revolut's Big Bank Ambitions Threatened by Surge in Fraud Complaints
The $45 billion challenger bank says it’s committed to tackling online fraud as it seeks ‘exponential’ growth.
In early May, George Workman was busy sending invoices to clients from his suburban London warehouse when his mobile phone rang. At the other end, a clipped British accent warned him that someone was trying to hack into his bank account to pilfer thousands of pounds to buy Bitcoin, and offered help to stop it.
The 44-year-old founder of premixed drinks firm Liberation Cocktails had little reason to doubt the caller, who claimed to be with the anti-fraud team of UK fintech firm Revolut Ltd., where Workman had recently opened an account. But things took a turn in a matter of minutes when Workman downloaded a link the caller said was for a live chat with Revolut agents. During the call, about £10,800 ($14,130) vanished from his other long-time, high-street bank balance through his Revolut account. He’d been scammed.