No. Rip currents do not pull people under the water; they carry swimmers away from shore near the surface.
The National Weather Service says the belief comes from confusing rip currents with undertow, a slower return flow of water along the bottom, and states that neither one will pull a person under. Rip currents are narrow channels of water moving seaward that typically flow about 1 to 2 feet per second and can reach 8 feet per second, which is on par with the top speeds of some of the fastest Olympic swimmers. The flow is usually fastest toward the middle of the current and just below the surface, and it can surge for 30 seconds to a minute when sets of larger waves break. Swimmers who feel pulled under are usually experiencing a combination of panic, exhaustion, and breaking waves hitting them. The real danger is being carried offshore and tiring out while trying to swim straight back to shore against the current.
Source: National Weather Service, “The Science of Rip Currents”
Image: Text-book rip currents at Monkstone Beach, by Alistair Hare, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.