Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1517065
7.3.2024 3 NEWS 7.3.2024 A warning has been issued to Revolut cus- tomers after takeover scammers stole more than £200,000 from two UK accounts. Both victims saw their accounts target- ed by fraudsters who passed the digital bank's selfie security checks just days apart, according to Which?. e consumer watchdog said one of the victims was on the brink of bankruptcy after £165,000 was taken from their ac- count, while the other had lost more than £40,000 in 10 minutes. e criminals pretended to be part of the Revolut fraud team, calling about suspicious activity and passing a series of security checks to hack into the custom- ers' accounts. Which? said Revolut investigated both cases and would not refund any of the losses because its multi-factor authenti- cation checks were completed. is included the use of a selfie to gain access to the account, a security code be- ing entered after it was sent by text and a login from a new device after an email was sent to a registered address. Revolut told Sky News it was aware of a "recent increase" in advanced account takeover scam attempts, and it was "deep- ly concerned" by the number of crimes being committed using fake phone calls. "We are sorry to hear of any instance where our customers have been targeted by ruthless and sophisticated criminals. Each potential fraud case concerning a Revolut customer is carefully investigat- ed and assessed independently of other cases," it said. It also said it was "continuously strength- ening" its fraud controls to stay one step ahead of new trends. More than £200,000 stolen from two Revolut accounts in the UK Revolut will not refund any of the losses IZI Finance plc registers 61% year-on-year EBITDAR growth in H2 2023 PAUL COCKS IZI Finance plc, the financing and holding company of IZI Group has announced a 26% year-on-year revenue growth, as it published its half-yearly results for the period July – December 2023. e Group has seen an increase in revenue across all its business op- erations, most notably the National Lottery. e results generated EBITDAR of €12.6 million for the 6-month period, an increase of 61% when compared to the same period the previous year. During the six-month period that ended on 31 December 2023, the Group generated total revenue and other income of €45.5 million (2022: €36.4 million), from the following operations: €30.7 million (2022: €22.4 million), 67.5% (2022: 61.5%) from the National Lottery; €13.3 million (2022: €12.8 million), 29.2% (2022: 35.2%) from the Dragonara Casino; and €1.5 million (2022: €1.2 million), 3.3% (2022: 3.3%) from the interactive gaming business. Earnings before interest, tax, de- preciation, amortisation, and rent (EBITDAR) for the period amount- ed to €12.6 million (2022: €7.8 mil- lion), 27.7% (2022: 21.4%) of total revenue and other income, derived from the following operations: €9.0 million (2022: €4.8 million), 71.4% (2022: 61.5%) from the National Lottery; €3.2 million (2022: €2.9 million) or 25.4% (2022: 37.2%) from the Dragonara Casino; €0.5 million (2022: €0.3 million) or 4.0% (2022: 3.9%) from the interactive gaming business; and €0.1 million negative contribution (2022: €0.2 million negative contribution), neg- ative 0.8% (2022: negative 2.6%) from non-operating entities. Depreciation and amortisation of intangible assets, property, plant and equipment and right-of-use of asset amounting to €6.0 million, €2.2 million, and €1.0 million (2022: €6.1 million, €1.5 million and €0.8 million), respectively, or a total of €9.2 million (2022: €8.4 million) or 20% (2022: 23%) of total revenue and other income. Total finance costs for the period amounted to €2.8 million (2022: €2.2 million) of which €1.3 million (2022: €0.9 million) relates to bank borrowings, €0.7 million (2022: €0.7 million) to bonds in issue and €0.8 million (2022: €0.6 million) to inter- est related to leasing arrangements, as per the requirements of IFRS 16 accounting standards. Other charges below EBITDAR include short-term leases amount- ing to €0.2 million (2022: €0.2 mil- lion). During the six months period, the Group managed to generate a prof- it of€ 0.2 million (2022: loss of €2.2 million). Consolidated total assets as at 31 December 2023 amounted to €278.1 million (30 June 2023: €279.0 million), with the Group's total eq- uity at 31 December 2023 standing at €81.5 million (30 June 2023: €81.3 million), representing 29.3% (30 June 2023: 29.1%) of the total assets. Commenting on the results ob- tained, the newly appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Group, Chris Fenech, said that the financial results are very encouraging and augur well for the remainder of the fiscal year. "e positive trajectory of our fis- cal performance has garnered in- creased confidence in the Group's prospects. Our efforts across the di- verse business units have been well received by our customer base ena- bling us to strengthen our founda- tion and market position," he said. "We look forward to the imple- mentation of various other initia- tives in the coming months. Our focus continues to be on cost opti- misation and efficiency, innovation through the deployment of new technology, customer satisfaction and driving long-term value for all stakeholders." IZI Group has seen an increase in revenue across all its business operations, especially the National Lottery Chris Fenech_newly appointed CFO of IZI Group plc