Revolut Warns of Surging Scams on WhatsApp and Telegram

Digital bank Revolut has issued an urgent alert after detecting that 39% of all reported fraud cases now originate on encrypted messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram—marking a dramatic shift in scammers’ tactics.

Key Findings

• Fraudsters are exploiting end-to-end encryption to bypass traditional detection
• Common scams include fake investment offers, impersonation fraud, and “urgent” payment requests
• Victims are often targeted through compromised group chats or spoofed business accounts

Revolut’s security team notes criminals increasingly “prey on trust” in private messaging ecosystems, where banks have limited visibility compared to email or SMS scams. The bank advises customers to:

1. Verify identities through secondary channels
2. Never share one-time codes via chat
3. Report suspicious messages to both Revolut and platform moderators

The warning follows UK Finance data showing £500 million lost to authorized push payment (APP) scams in 2023, with messaging platforms becoming the fastest-growing attack vector.