Safe or scam? Safe Account Scams

Safe account scams start with an unsolicited call from someone pretending to be your bank. It is common that the number shown on your phone is the legitimate number of the bank. This is called ‘spoofing’ - there are apps where the scammers can make it look like you are being called by a genuine bank number and cover up the number they are actually calling from. 

The individual on the phone, posing as someone from your bank or payment service, such as PayPal, will suggest that there is fraudulent activity on your account. They are usually very professional, go through security and have information about you and your account that you believe only your bank would have. 

The information that the scammer has about you is typically gathered from a phishing scam that happens in the weeks or months before this phone call. Using the incomplete information provided in the phishing scam, they will attempt to make small payments from your account. As it will look like someone is trying to make payments from your account, they will use this as a reason that you need to move quickly and put pressure on you to secure your account from fraudsters.

Following conversations with the scammers, who are usually very knowledgeable about different banks, will also ask you if you have any other accounts. They may suggest they will also contact these banks, as banks work together, to let them know about the fraud threats to your accounts. You may receive phone calls which appear to be from other banks you hold accounts with, claiming that these accounts have also been compromised. The scammer may send texts that come through on the genuine bank thread confirming the fraud, which will make this situation seem more convincing.

In some cases, they may also explain that in order to protect your account you are required to read out security codes to them. These will come through as text messages to your phone. When you are under stress, you may not read the full message and give the scammer these codes over the phone, under the impression that it will protect your account or confirm your identity. These codes are in fact one time passcodes that are used to authorise payments. This is the scammers making payments from your account, without your knowledge, and tricking you into reading out the codes for the payments to go through. These payments are unauthorised and should always be refunded by the bank. 

If you have sent the money to the scammers yourself, they may suggest that you will receive your money back the next day and even go so far as pretending to make an appointment for you at your local branch the following day to recover your money. Upsettingly, victims of these scams usually find out while they are on the phone with the scammer, that they have lost their money.

So how do you check if it is SAFE or a SCAM? 

🚩Your bank calls out of the blue, suggesting your account is at risk of fraud

🚩You have previously been victim of a phishing scam

🚩The person on the phone is asking you to share a code with them

🚩They are putting pressure on you to act quickly

🚩You are asked not to tell anyone about what is happening

🚩You are asked to read out or share codes sent to you 

🚩You are being asked to send money to a ‘safe account’

What you can do if you are unsure if it is your genuine bank calling: 

• If you are called out of the blue, we always suggest that you terminate the call and call the number on the back of your bank card, or contact in-app if using a digital money service

• If you are worried about calling, you can always go to your local bank branch and discuss what has happened

If you are ever unsure whether or not you are making a genuine investment, call the number on the back of your bank card and speak to your bank’s fraud team.

If you have lost money to this type of scam, Refundee can help you get your money back from your bank and you can fill in our fraud refund claim form for a free consultation. Our fee is 15% plus VAT on anything that we get back, and we don't charge anything if we are not successful. For larger cases, the fee is subject to a maximum of £10k plus VAT per case.   

Remember, you don’t need to use a company like Refundee - you could work your case yourself for free! If you’d like to get a refund yourself. You can do this by following the ‘Claim Yourself’ guide here: https://www.refundee.com/claim-yourself.