Revolut has warned that Brits are the most vulnerable to WhatsApp scams in Europe, as the neobank intensifies its demands liability to repay fraud to be handed to social media platforms.
New research from the fintech has claimed that UK WhatsApp users lost on average £2,437 to scams last year, the most in the continent.
Revolut highlighted that Meta platforms – which include WhatsApp – are the largest source of scams in the world, with 58% in 2024 supposedly originating on them.
The UK’s largest private tech firm has been calling for shared liability with social media firms since last October, when UK payment providers were mandated to reimburse victims of authorised push payment (APP) fraud up to £85,000.
APP is a form of financial crime wherein a victim is coerced into willingly sending a scammer money under false pretences. APP is the most common form of financial crime in Britain.
According to the recently licensed bank, while payment providers facilitate the transaction, it is most commonly social media providers that allow scammers to reach victims.
Revolut has therefore demanded social media companies like Meta accept shared liability in cases where the scam originated on their platform.
“WhatsApp has a fundamental responsibility to protect its users, and their current approach is clearly failing,” said Woody Malouf, head of financial crime at Revolut.
“The illusion of security on encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp is being ruthlessly exploited by criminals.
“We’re seeing consumers increasingly letting their guards down to messages received on WhatsApp more than any other platform, perhaps due to the belief that if someone has their number, they have a legitimate reason for getting in contact.”
Data collected by Revolut found that last year on average £478 per customer was lost to scammers on Facebook, £602 on Instagram, £150 on X and £510 on TikTok.
UKTN has contacted Meta for comment.
A BBC investigation last year found that Revolut had been named in more fraud complaints than any other major UK bank over the previous year, almost 10,000.
A Guardian investigation earlier this month found that an organised scam operation based in Georgia that had victimised at least 1,000 affected Revolut customers more than any other bank.
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