Combating fake calls from your bank

20 Oct Combating fake calls from your bank

We’ve all had that call, “Hi it’s your Bank, we need to talk to you about your account”. However, how do we know if it’s genuine?

Therefore, to try and combat this, many of the Country’s leading banks have teamed up with Stop Scams UK, Global Cyber Alliance, UK Finance, & Telecom firms such as BT to address this issue.

What is it?

They have created a Call 159 system, which is a 12-month pilot intended to provide a simple and trusted method for bank customers, whether you’re a personal or business customer.

How to use it?

When someone calls 159 from a mobile or landline, they will be greeted by an automated message, which will ask them to select their bank e.g. Bank of Scotland, Halifax or Lloyds Bank.

They will then be transferred through to the relevant Customer Contact Team who will be able to confirm if the call was genuine or not and give appropriate guidance and act where required.

Important to remember

• If you receive a call from someone you think may be pretending to be your bank or someone else (HMRC, police, etc.): Hang up – Call 159 to speak to your bank
• If you are asked to call a certain number to contact your bank, you don’t need to check the number they give you is real: Simply Call 159