Criminals steal $20M from Revolut

Source: Money Review

Organized criminals exploited a vulnerability in Revolut's payment systems to steal over $20 million from the fintech company, as reported by the Financial Times, citing multiple anonymous sources knowledgeable about the incident.

The issue arose due to differences between Revolut's American and European systems, which meant that certain transactions were being rejected and then mistakenly refunded, the newspaper stated. Criminal gangs began exploiting the issue in early 2022 after identifying the loophole in late 2021.

Specifically, they encouraged individuals to make large transactions that would be rejected and then collected the refunded amounts through ATMs.

The problem came to light when a cooperating bank in the United States notified the UK-based company that it held less cash than expected. The vulnerability ceased to exist in the spring of 2022, according to the FT.

Approximately $23 million was stolen in total, although some funds were recovered through the prosecution of those who had made cash withdrawals, resulting in a net loss of approximately $20 million.