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Today, we investigate why fraud complaints at neobanks Monzo, Revolut and Starling are growing faster than the rate of customer growth.

Elsewhere on the fintech front, on December 7 we'll be finding out how fintechs can survive the economic downturn in our next Sifted Talks, while in our free Fintech newsletter tomorrow we're looking at female-founded startups in the sector. Sign up so you don't miss out!

Fintech not your thing? Also from the Sifted newsroom:

• 'Becoming CEO is the first real job I’ve had’: Brunch with ex-footballer Mathieu Flamini
• Index's Danny Rimer on layoffs, crypto and sector-specific funds
• Readers’ views: The Slush controversy

Neobank customers increasingly targeted by scammers. Fraud complaints from customers at Monzo, Revolut and Starling are at a three-year high, according to data from the UK's Financial Ombudsman Service.

The vast majority involve a scam where fraudsters persuade someone to transfer funds into another account under false pretences. 

Tim Smith and Amy O'Brien investigate what's going wrong.

Read Hired's report to get insights on UK salary trends — broken down by role and years of experience — along with industry benchmarks such as average time-to-hire. 

Download here.

⚽️ 'Becoming CEO is the first real job I’ve had’: Brunch with ex-footballer Mathieu Flamini. Sifted sat down with the Arsenal and AC Milan midfielder to find out how he reinvented himself as an entrepreneur. He opened up about why he decided to found a green chemicals startup, why he loves David Attenborough and what it's like sharing a dressing room with superstars like David Beckham and Ronaldinho.

🎙️ Index's Danny Rimer on layoffs, crypto and sector-specific funds. One of the most well-known names in VC — notable for having done that deal in Figma and sitting on the boards of companies like Dropbox, Etsy, Farfetch and Glossier — told editor Amy Lewin why he's long avoided crypto, and how he's thinking about layoffs.

🤯 Startups: plan for a crisis today. Companies of all sizes go through crises, and a good reputation can be destroyed by one comms muck up. So what can founders do to avoid that fate? From taking comms strategy as seriously as tech development to not being hasty when shit hits the fan, here's what startups need to know.

📝 Speaking of which... Our readers’ views on the Slush controversy. The fiasco around Slush's pitch competition stirred up a lot of strong feelings. Here's what you — our readers — thought of it all.

🕹️ 16 gaming startups to watch, according to investors. Gaming startups are well on the rise in Europe, and investment has hit $1.8bn so far this year. That's in part due to all the hype around the metaverse — but are VCs still as turned on by the sector? We reached out to four top firms to find out.

Can fintechs survive the currency crunch? With shifting exchange rates it’s no surprise that there are concerns for the future. On December 7 at 12pm GMT/1pm CET join us virtually where we’ll explore how fintechs can navigate this rocky period and future-proof their businesses. Register for free today.

Trying to navigate the slowdown? Here’s what we learnt in 2022. This year was a mixed bag for European tech growth, but was it really all bad for investors? Join us virtually on December 14 at 12pm GMT/1pm CET as we reflect on how the industry raised cash and deployed funds in 2022, and explore what challenges and trends 2023 holds. It’s free, so don’t miss out. Count me in.

Crypto crash, Theranos scandal and Slush mayhem. In our most recent episode of Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast, we speak to at-home diagnostics startup Thriva’s founder Hamish Grierson about the future of health in the home and hear about more shockwaves hitting Europe in the wake of FTX’s meltdown — plus much more! Listen here.

Every Tuesday, our fintech super sleuth Amy O'Brien brings her newsletter subscribers spicy takes on the biggest news stories of the week. 

From FTX to Pipe, Klarna to Carta, open banking to revenue-based financing, she picks apart who and what's on the up and what's very much on the down. She also quizzes investors about the next big things, and shares telling data nuggets.

Recent stories include: 

• 🌳 What is climate fintech and why do VCs love it so much?

• 🏦 Forget neobanks: In 2022, it’s B2B fintech that investors find ‘sexy’
• 💵 Starling Bank cuts customers off from crypto-related payments

Tempted? Give it a bite — sign up here.

Kai Nicol-Schwarz

Reporter

Get in touch with him at

kai@sifted.eu

He tweets from 

@NicolSchwarzK

Amy Lewin

Editor

Get in touch with her at

amy@sifted.eu

She tweets from

@amyrlewin

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