Revolut is facing a reported $3m (£2.2m) ransom demand after hackers posing as government officials accessed the data of hundreds of the bank’s cryptocurrency customers, including one victim who says he fears for his safety. Europe’s largest financial technology company confirmed last weekend that it had fallen victim to an impersonation scam in which hackers compromised an Italian government email system to contact Revolut staff and request personal customer details. While the data breach only affected about 680 of Revolut’s 80 million global customers, it is believed to have targeted customers with suspected cryptocurrency holdings.
It is not clear how the scandal might affect Revolut’s much-anticipated stock market debut, with Revolut’s founder, Nik Storonsky, telling Les Echoes on Thursday that there were plans for a dual listing in both London and New York. One of the alleged hackers has reportedly threatened to publish the customer data unless Revolut pays a $3m ransom, according to the Financial Times, which has been speaking to the purported hacker. A Revolut spokesperson said the bank “has not received any direct contact or demand from the individuals or group making these claims”.
But some victims have said they fear they could end up being forced to face ransoms. The former chief executive of failed bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, Mark Karpelès, said he was one of the victims of the data breach and is now worried about his family’s safety.
My address is in those files, so of course I’m worried about this,” he told the Guardian. He has since contacted law enforcement in Tokyo, where he lives, after saying in an X post earlier this week that he feared he could be “kidnapped or dead” by the time Revolut gave him more substantial information about the breach. Karpelès said he was relieved that Japanese officials were taking the threat seriously, “but I might still have to travel overseas or be in places that may not be as safe”.
The French businessman, who has been a Revolut customer since 2023, said that hackers may have mistakenly targeted his account, thinking he was wealthier than he actually is. He said he was forced to declare bankruptcy in the wake of a high-profile court case in Japan. Karpelès is a controversial figure in the crypto world.
He was charged, but later acquitted, of embezzlement by Japanese courts, following the collapse of the crypto exchange platform in 2014. He was found guilty of falsifying data. Karpelès said he has joined a victim chat group on X in the wake of the data breach, where customers having been sharing information and support.
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