Impersonation scams

How it could happen to you

• You get a message that seems to be from someone you know, asking you to send them money. They might say they’ve lost their phone and have a new number
• You get a message from a delivery company saying they have a parcel for you and you need to pay a fee to arrange or reschedule a delivery
• You get a call, email or text that looks like it’s from a company you trust, saying you need to make a payment. It might sound urgent, like an overdue bill or an issue with your taxes
• A caller claims to be from the police and says they’re investigating local bank staff. They ask you to withdraw cash to help with the investigation, and arrange for a courier to collect it from you
• Someone calls and says they’re from your bank. They say you need to send in your bank card, and offer to arrange for a courier to collect it. They trick you into revealing your PIN on the call, or say you need to send it with your card
• Someone impersonates your bank or the police and tells you your money is at risk. They say you need to move it to a new account to keep it safe.

How to protect yourself

• Be suspicious of unexpected requests for money. Remember that scammers use emails and texts to impersonate people
• Don’t click on links in unexpected messages, especially ones asking you to make a payment or give personal details
• If a company calls unexpectedly and asks you to make a payment, end the call. Scammers can keep your line open, so use a different phone to call the company and check if the request is genuine. Always get their number from a trusted source, like their website
  
• If you aren't sure a call is from us, and you have our app¹, you can ask us to send you a notification to your app to prove the call is genuine
• Don’t reveal your PIN to anyone, and never enter it over the phone
• Never hand over your bank card, PIN, cash or valuable items to a courier. Be suspicious of anyone who asks you to do this
• Think twice if someone tells you to withdraw and give them large amounts of cash
  
• Remember that the police don’t ask the public to help carry out investigations 
• Don’t believe anyone who says you need to move your money to keep it safe. Only a scammer would say that
  
• Never give remote access to your computer or device to someone who has called you unexpectedly
  
• Remember – an official company or organisation would never ask you to pay for something by buying items like vouchers, jewellery or gold.