Everybody can be targeted by scammers, criminal gangs and rogue traders and become a victim of fraud.
Criminals will often use different ways to get hold of your building society or bank account details, or other personal details.
As fraud becomes more sophisticated you can be caught out by scams which involve criminals posing as a genuine individual or organistation visiting you at home or contacting you by phone, letter, email, text or social media in the hope of stealing YOUR money.
If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud or if you suspect fraudulent activity on your account with us please report it to us immediately.
Financial abuse is a common tactic used by someone (the ‘abuser’) to gain power and control in a relationship. The abuser can be partners, ex-partners, family members or others, such as carers. In general, financial abuse includes someone else controlling your spending or your access to cash, belongings and finances.
If you believe that you or someone you know is a victim of financial abuse the ‘It’s Your Money’ leaflet produced by UK Finance provides information on what to do and provides details about the help and support available.
Fraudsters may call and pretend that they are your building society, bank or even the Police and tell you there’s a problem with your account passbook, debit or credit card. They may ask you for personal details or to key your card PIN into the phone and tell you they are sending a courier to collect your passbook or card. They may also say that you are due a refund for overpayment or are owed money to obtain your details.
If you receive this type of call say you will call them back. Find the number for the company from the company’s website or any previous correspondence you have had with them e.g. a monthly statement. Be aware that scammers sometimes don’t hang up after the initial call so always check the call is properly disconnected before calling the bank or Police to report it – wait 5 minutes or use a different phone if you can.
Fraudsters may also say they are from a satellite TV provider, phone or utility company (e.g. gas, electricity or water) and offer you a refund but to process the refund, they’ll ask you for account details or to do a transaction involving your debit card. NEVER give them your account details, password or PIN.
Be careful of any email from a retailer, building society or bank which is badly-worded or littered with spelling mistakes or if an email has an urgent deadline for response. A common email scam is for a tax rebate. HMRC will never email you about any money you are owed – it will always write to you via the post.
You should NEVER click on a link and enter your password – no matter how genuine it looks. NEVER open an attachment unless you are 100% sure of its contents.
If you are not familiar with a website TAKE CARE, as fake websites are sometimes set up for the purposes of committing financial crime. A reputable search engine does not always return reputable websites.
Always log out properly from any online service and avoid using computers in public places.
Keep your web browser up-to-date and your PC protected with the latest anti-virus software as web viruses can help steal money.
We take your privacy and security seriously. To help you stay protected, here are some things that we will never do:
Scammers continue to find ever more creative ways to get your cash so this guide can never be completely comprehensive.
One simple principle to remember is:
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