How they acted
Organized criminals exploited a flaw in Revolut's payment systems to steal more than $20 million of the fintech's money, the Financial Times reported, citing multiple sources with knowledge of the incident who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The issue arose because of differences between Revolut's US and European systems that meant some transactions were being rejected and then returned incorrectly, the paper said. Criminal gangs began exploiting the issue in early 2022 after discovering the loophole in late 2021.
More specifically they encouraged people to make large transactions that would be declined and then get refunds via ATMs.< /p>
The problem came to light when a partner bank in the US notified the UK-based company that it was holding less cash than expected. The flaw ceased to exist in the spring of 2022, the FT reported.
About $23 million was stolen in total, although some funds were recovered by tracking down those who had withdrawn cash, bringing the net loss to around $20 million.
source: Money Review
