Tens of thousands of scam messages are being sent out to lure customers at Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, and Lloyds Bank into giving up cash and personal information.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) issued the warning, reporting a significant rise in banking scams sent via text messages.
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The impostor messages come in the guise of security messages from a bank requesting confirmation of a payment made from a device not used before.
They then ask the customer to click on a link to confirm payment to a named person. Once clicked, the link will request the customer’s bank login details—putting them at serious risk of bank fraud.
“The public is very vulnerable to this type of fraud”
Katherine Hart, a Lead Officer at CTSI, commented:
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By GlobalData“I am witnessing so many reports of this scam. Indeed, I have received multiple versions of it on my phone. The public is very vulnerable to this type of fraud, especially when more people rely on online payments.
“Fraudsters change the form and methods of their scams to match shifting consumer behaviour. The surge in online shopping and payments means that the public must be more vigilant when making online payments and receiving messages claiming to be from their bank.
“If you receive a suspicious text like this, please contact your bank directly and verify with them. Also, forward any scam texts to 7726, which is a free reporting service ran by Ofcom. We must protect ourselves and others from these scams but also provide vital intelligence to authorities.”
What to do if you suspect a scam
Customers who receive a text message like this, if they are unsure about its authenticity, are urged to contact their bank directly and verify it with them.
It’s also worth forwarding any scam texts to 7726, which is a free reporting service run by regulator Ofcom.
To report a scam, customers should contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use its online fraud reporting. They should also let their bank know.
A spokesperson for HSBC said: “We would encourage customers to keep abreast of the latest scams to help protect themselves from these unscrupulous criminals.”
