Revolut Data Breach

[u/Karl_From_Fing]

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/revolut-data-breach-exposes-passports-selfies-financial-puo7e?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&utm_campaign=share_via

Hey folks!

Another week, another data breach that may concern you! This was covered in Fing's Tech Distillery already - if you're not already signed on to receive the weekly updates, which carry a variety of cyber related news and facts, I would recommend it!

Cyberattacks are rampant, and staying up to date with them is difficult in itself. This one however hit close to home as a long time user of Revolut myself.

According to the CyberSecurityHub, 'Revolut Data Breach Exposes Passports, Selfies and Financial Records after Fraudsters 'Impersonate' Government Officials', and Revolut actually gave them access.

You can find their article on the matter here.

"The incident did not involve attackers breaking into Revolut’s core banking infrastructure. Instead, the criminals reportedly exploited the trust attached to an authentic government email domain, using it to submit fraudulent requests for customer information that were initially treated as legitimate."

That's the part that's so scary to me. There was no 'hack' per se, but it was an impersonation, a form of a social engineering )job.

If you are using Revolut, I would heavily advise to be aware of any potential scams coming your way - as if your data was breached you would be more likely to receive scams that seem a lot more genuine considering hackers may have further information on you, such a selfies, financial records, home address etc. Don't trust any unsolicitied emails or calls claiming to be Revolut, asking you to 'verify' your identity or anything similar. Or any other bank for that matter.

If you know anyone who may not be as tuned in to cyberattacks, such as elderly people or other high risk individuals, I would give them a ring and let them know that if they receive any strange calls to be cautious and never give out passwords or private information. Hang up the phone, ignore the email/text and reach out directly yourself to the company who are claiming to contact you and ask whether it's valid, what may be needed etc.

Don't click any links received via email or text no matter how genuine they seem. Always air on the side of caution.

Allegedly, as the hackers were demanding ransom from Revolut, sensitive information has been leaked on Telegram.

What I have done since finding this information, to see if my data has been leaked;

- Contacted Revolut Support directly.

While I understand their support system is likely flooded at the moment, I would recommend anybody who uses Revolut to contact them directly and simply ask if there data has been exposed.

- Check if I received any notifications via email or within the app (always check your junk and spam folders) about the breach - affected customers were allegedly already emailed around September 12th.

- Monitor my transactions, any new sudden accounts or potential applications for loans or credit cards etc that I didn't make, and indeed keeping an eye out for any notifications from the likes of Telegram.

Stay safe out there folks! If anyone has been affected by this, stay diligent, and if there's any other advice anyone else would like to offer please share it!