BeginnerSpotting Scam Emails & Texts

Banks will never ask you to move money to a "safe account"

If anyone calls you and asks you to transfer your money to a different account to protect it from fraud — even if they appear to be calling from your bank's genuine phone number — hang up immediately. This is a scam called an Authorised Push Payment fraud or "safe account scam," and it accounts for hundreds of millions of pounds stolen from UK victims every year.

Your bank will never ask you to:

- Transfer money to a different account to keep it safe

- Share your full card number or PIN over the phone

- Withdraw cash and hand it to a courier

- Download an app so they can "monitor" your account

Phone numbers can be faked (called "spoofing"), so a call appearing to come from your bank's genuine number could still be a criminal.

If you receive such a call, hang up, wait at least 5 minutes (criminals sometimes stay on the line to intercept your next call), then call your bank using the number on the back of your card.

Since October 2024, UK banks are legally required to reimburse most APP fraud victims under the new Payment Systems Regulator rules. Know your rights.

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safe account scamvishingAPP fraudbank impersonationnumber spoofing

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Delivery companies never ask for redelivery fees by text

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Pause before you act on any urgent message

The defining feature of almost every scam — whether email, text, phone call, or social media message — is urgency. Criminals create pressure because they know that when you're panicking, you stop thinking carefully. "Your account will be closed in 24 hours." "Payment required today to avoid legal action." "This is your final notice." "Your computer is infected and you must act now." When you feel this kind of pressure from an unexpected message, that is the single strongest signal that you should slow down rather than speed up. Most genuine organisations — banks, HMRC, utility companies — do not demand you act within minutes or hours. Real deadlines come with days or weeks of notice and are communicated through multiple channels. Building the habit of pausing for five minutes before acting on any urgent communication — and using that time to verify through official channels — will prevent the majority of scams from succeeding.

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