Digital bank Revolut is reportedly calling for Facebook and Instagram’s owner Meta (NASDAQ:META) to share reimbursement of alleged fraud victims.
UK-headquartered Revolut recently released their latest Consumer Security and Financial Crime Report.
Revolut explained that the update has revealed that Meta platforms are identified as the “source” of the majority or 62% of all scams reported to Revolut in H1 2024 with Facebook being the “most common” source of scams.
‘This is quite plausible when we consider that Facebook timelines are overcrowded with highly questionable Ads that are not being reviewed. Many Facebook Ads are being activated without actually being reviewed due to the sheer volume of submissions to these giant social media platforms. But Facebook is not alone, because other large platforms like YouTube have also been known to permit Ads from fraudulent individuals and businesses (who have now become the target of serious enforcement actions).
Revolut claims that it takes customer safety “seriously.”
In fact, the Fintech claims that in 2023 alone, they prevented more than £475 million in potentially-fraudulent transactions, but they should be the “last line of defense, not the only line.”
According to Revolut, fraud has to be “tackled at the source” which actually makes sense because this is where it can be curtailed in the most effective manner, thus ensuring adequate consumer protection.
Revolut added that Meta’s recently introduced data-sharing partnership financial institutions falls “woefully” short of what’s required to tackle fraud at an international level:
- The emphasis is once again being placed on financial institutions to supply data on scams seen on Meta platforms, rather than Meta investing more to monitor their own platforms.
- This initiative is only focused on the UK, when fraud is a global issue impacting consumers and businesses across many countries.
- Still no commitment to share in the reimbursement of victims defrauded on Meta platforms, despite the company potentially profiting from fake and fraudulent adverts.
Revolut’s Head of Financial Crime, Woody Malouf said that they are now confident in the steps governments are taking to tackle fraud, but what is “urgently needed” now is for Meta and other social media firms to commit to supporting victims of fraud in the same way financial institutions do.
Woody added that their “silence” on this issue “says it all.“