Revolut Fooled by Fake Email, Hands Over Customer Data

Revolut, a fintech company, was tricked into handing over sensitive customer information to hackers. The incident occurred when a fraudulent email request was made using authentication credentials from a genuine government agency's domain infrastructure.

The attackers obtained passport copies, verification selfies, and Bitcoin transaction histories of wealthy customers after Revolut treated the request as legitimate. However, the company soon discovered that it had been fooled and contacted the affected government agency to block the unauthorized mailbox.

Revolut has not disclosed the number of customers affected or the identity of the compromised government agency. The incident raises concerns about how much information financial institutions collect from customers and the controls used when governments seek access to those records.

Marc Zeller, founder of the Aave Chan Initiative, criticized Revolut for releasing customer data after demanding additional information from him, which he deemed suspicious. He accused the company of doing the attackers' work for them.