The report intends to shine light on the expanding scam and fraud sector globally and offer concrete watch-outs to assist individuals protect themselves. It is based on significant internal research and data analysis. Revolut intends to continuously review this data in order to monitor the state of fraud.

Setting the scene: the state of global fraud

Revolut's research highlights the growing threat posed by scams, which according to GASA (Global Anti-Scam Alliance & ScamAdviser, Global State of Scams report) defrauded citizens worldwide of over $1 trillion in 2022.According to Revolut data, the fraud landscape underwent major changes last year, with a notable increase in the sophistication of fraudulent schemes targeted at obtaining sensitive account details and personal information for financial gain. This phenomena is still on the rise. Financial thieves have stepped up their efforts and are using more complex strategies to trick victims, including social engineering attacks, lengthy payment chains, and fraudulent websites.

Revolut stayed proactive in 2023 to stay ahead of the ever-changing fraud landscape in order to counter these dangers. In addition to prioritizing scam education initiatives through its in-app Learn program, it implemented enhanced security features, such as biometric authentication and proactive payment flow warnings, to provide customers with the knowledge and resources they need to defend themselves against malicious actors.

Revolut's in-house fraud detection technology, which uses cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning, stopped almost £475 million worth of fraud against its consumers last year.

Comparing Authorized and Unauthorized Fraud

The report makes a distinction between Authorized Fraud (often known as "scams"), which involves deceitful tactics used to persuade a victim to allow a payment to be made, and Unauthorized Fraud, which is defined as hackers breaking into an account without the victim's consent.

The paper states that social engineering is still a major factor in both types of fraud, but its effects are greatest when Authorized Fraud is committed.In fact, although though unauthorised fraud deceived 62% of Revolut victims in 2023, the average loss per victim was GBP 110 as opposed to GBP 1,400 per person lost in authorised fraud.

"Protecting our customers from the growing threat of scams globally is paramount to us at Revolut," stated Woody Malouf, Head of Financial Crime at Revolut. In addition to providing insight into the constantly changing fraud scene, our inaugural Financial Crime and Consumer Security Report also gives people the information they need to be on the lookout for fraudulent activity. Our customers are empowered to protect their assets and confidently traverse the digital world because to our sophisticated fraud detection technologies and unwavering dedication to innovation.

Trends in Unauthorized Fraud

98% of fraud instances include credit card fraud, which frequently uses phishing attempts as a technique. In contrast to these methods, Revolut's virtual disposable cards have much lower fraud rates than regular cards because they can only be used once, providing better protection.

Physical Theft: in 2023, Revolut's customers suffered 39% of all unauthorized fraud losses due to physical theft, even though it only affected 1% of the victims. These days, con artists work within organized crime networks, observing individuals while they use their phones and utilizing astute methods to obtain passcodes. When adding a pincode, it's crucial to always be aware of your surroundings and avoid keeping your login information on your phone in order to lower the danger.

Trends in Authorized Fraud

Job scams: targeting young people looking for work, they have increased by more than 1200% between 2023 and 2024.

Scams involving investments rose by 142% in the past year. Most of these frauds present possibilities to invest in cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. Scammers have targeted cryptocurrency investors with higher guaranteed profits because of the anonymity that cryptocurrency affords.

Purchase scams continue to be the most common scam type worldwide, accounting for 63% of all reported scams in 2023 but less than 15% of total value lost.

Revolut's best advice on avoiding buy scams

Check internet evaluations and purchase from trustworthy and dependable merchants. Good ratings are what authentic and reliable merchants will typically have—not a mix of negative or none at all.

Ask questions - If the seller withholds information from you or puts pressure on you to pay quickly, proceed with caution. To confirm the seller's ownership, ask to view valuable things in person or via video inspection, and make sure you have the necessary paperwork.

Always use a debit or credit card when making a payment, and use a secure method (such as Revolut single use virtual cards!). Scammers can request that you use a bank transfer rather than a credit or debit card. Transfers are difficult to track down, and our chances of recovering your money in the event of a scam are slim.

Revolut in-app alerts should never be disregarded, particularly if the merchant is pressuring you to complete the payment quickly.

Enter the website's address into your browser to confirm its legitimacy. Never click on links in unsolicited texts or emails. After you've accessed the website, see if it appears to be somewhat well-designed. Unsuitable colors, a logo, or a layout might all be signs that a website is fraudulent.

Lastly, always keep in mind that if anything looks too good to be true, it most often is.