Revolut steps up fight against impersonation scams with new call identification feature

Revolut, the global fintech with more than 65 million global customers and 12 million in the UK, is launching a new in-app feature designed to protect users from one of the most insidious types of fraud: impersonation scams.

The new feature detects when a customer opening the Revolut app is on the phone – this includes apps allowing voice calls – and confirms whether they are, or not, talking with a Revolut agent. It goes one step further than similar features in the market, helping customers promptly take the right action to report attempted fraud and keep their funds safe if it is found they’re being targeted.

With the rise of AI-generated deepfake voices and increasingly sophisticated social-engineering tactics, criminals are finding new ways to convince consumers they are speaking to their bank or somebody they trust. Impersonation scams trick victims into believing they’re on a legitimate call with a trusted financial institution or person – often pressuring them to move money to safer accounts, to share sensitive data, or to approve fraudulent transactions.

This threat is accelerating rapidly. Scammers can now generate highly convincing scripts and even synthetic voice mimics. Concerningly, A 2021 study found that only 25% of people can accurately distinguish a deepfake voice from a real one – however, most participants falsely believed they could identify the fakes. This leaves people vulnerable to scams – only adding to the surge of APP (Authorised Push Payment) fraud.

Empowering users with timely, actionable protection

Revolut’s new feature introduces a live in-app banner that appears the moment the app detects the user is on a phone call. The system identifies whether the call is coming from Revolut or from another number and advises accordingly:

. If the caller is Revolut, the banner will confirm that the call is legit

. If the caller is not Revolut, the user will see a clear, urgent banner informing them that they are not on a call with Revolut

. Tapping the banner leads users to actionable protection pathways based on what’s happening.

This real-time contextual system provides an additional layer of defence against impersonation attempts that occur during live calls – a scenario where victims can be caught off guard and vulnerable under pressure.

Rami Kalai, Product Owner at Revolut said: “This new feature not only gives users real-time, contextual warnings in the moment they need them most but also guides them to identify impersonation scams providing clear, actionable steps to keep their money safe while the fraud attempt is happening.”

A broader strategy to protect customers

This launch builds on a suite of recent features introduced by Revolut to protect customers from scams and unauthorised activity. In 2024 alone, Revolut’s advanced fraud-prevention systems saved customers more than £600 million that would have otherwise been lost to scams. Recent releases include:

. In-App Calls – allowing customers to speak to Revolut directly and securely via the in-app feature, eliminating the need to trust phone numbers received externally in the vast majority of cases.

. Wealth Protection and Street Mode – features designed to keep transfers safe through biometric verification and delay them, in the case of Street Mode, to contrast specific events like transfer mugging.

. Enhanced machine-learning systems that detect and block risky transactions before they leave a customer’s account.

The new feature is already active for all Revolut customers with an iOS device. Android users will need to proactively authorise the feature from the Security Hub.

Disclaimer

This feature is optional for Android users and does not guarantee complete protection