Revolut saves millions from crypto fraud while US Homeland Security disrupts hacks

Two announcements from the private and governmental sectors have shown that crypto-related losses could have been much larger without specific security measures in place.

For instance, fintech giant Revolut announced that it prevented $13.5 million worth of potentially fraudulent crypto transfers this summer alone. The company estimates that its 4,000-strong security team saved clients more than $600 million last year from potential fraud involving both crypto assets and traditional money.

Revolut, with over 10,000 employees, serves more than 45 million customers who have entrusted the company with nearly $24 billion in assets.

The security team, supported by AI-powered tools, reportedly monitors suspicious activity, two-factor authentication issues, and other potential threats in real-time to detect fraud.

According to Revolut, they "occasionally perform extra checks" in the following cases:

• Suspected criminal activity

• Activity indicative of money laundering

• Recipient addresses flagged as potentially fraudulent

• Recipient addresses closely associated with scams

• Transfers to prohibited addresses, such as those subject to sanctions

• Discrepancies between the information in their system and customer-provided details

In such instances, additional information may be requested from the client.

The company states that 6% of crypto transfers on its platform are flagged as suspicious, while 2% are identified to protect customers from fraud. Revolut claims that 1 in 5,000 transfers results in account closure following further review, representing less than 0.02% of all transactions.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reports that, since 2021, when its Cyber Crimes Center was established, it has managed to prevent 537 ransomware attacks, including 150 disrupted between October 2023 and September of this year.

Mike Prado, deputy assistant director of the Cyber Crimes Center, told Bloomberg that investigators analyze internet traffic and unpatched software vulnerabilities to understand how criminals exploit weaknesses in potential victims' security. According to Prado, this helps anticipate when attacks might occur.