Original text here from Patrice Bernard (LinkedIn)
A recent study by Revolut, based on fraud reports from its 50 million customers, reveals a concerning trend: Meta’s platforms are responsible for over half of all reported scams, with so-called secure messaging apps—especially WhatsApp—becoming a favored tool for cybercriminals.
To some extent, the results are predictable. Fraudsters naturally gravitate toward the platforms with the largest user bases, which puts Meta—owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—at the top of the list. The shift from traditional social media to messaging apps is also notable, particularly among Revolut’s younger, digitally savvy clientele.
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But there’s a deeper issue at play. When Google is cited in only 0.9% of fraud cases, the disparity points to something more than user demographics. It underscores how proactive content moderation and ad policy enforcement can be both possible and effective. Revolut, beyond repeating the call for platforms to financially support victim compensation, urges urgent, coordinated action from all digital players to better protect consumers.
However, the digital bank enters murky territory when it critiques the false sense of security created by exaggerated claims of end-to-end encryption by platform providers. While it’s true that such marketing may embolden user overconfidence, this argument risks fueling regulatory efforts that could undermine encryption itself—a stance with serious consequences for digital safety.
Coincidentally, the European Commission just revisited this issue with the launch of ProtectEU, its new internal security strategy. The plan again pushes for law enforcement backdoors to encrypted data—essentially mandating deliberate vulnerabilities. This push for "secure access" ironically coexists in the same document with appeals for stronger infrastructure defense using quantum technologies.
Ultimately, whether it’s reckless policymaking or widespread user naivety, the only meaningful response is clear: digital education. Policymakers often lack the technical understanding needed to foresee the consequences of their decisions, while users—many of them increasingly young—venture online with little awareness of risks. Only a structured and comprehensive curriculum covering digital literacy, threats, and best practices can restore both calm in the debate and safety in users’ wallets.
