UK Finance, the trade association that oversees the UK finance and banking industry, found in 2018 that criminals successfully stoke £1.2 billion through fraud and scams in 2018. Last year the advanced security systems and innovations protected more than £1.6 billion in attempted fraud.
These crimes can have a devastating impact on victims. Even if the customer gets their money back from their finance provider, the organised criminal gangs which perpetrate these frauds still profit from the proceeds. Money that may go on to fund illicit acts which damage our society.
As a result, the banking association has launched fraud awareness campaigns that offers tips to try and prevent people from losing their money to scammers. The most important thing to do is try to keep your bank account safe. This means knowing what your bank would NEVER do:
- Ask for your PIN number or any password by email, phone or in person
- Send a person to your home to collect cash, bank cards or anything else
- Ask you to e-mail or text any personal or banking information
- Send an e-mail with a link to a page that asks you to enter
- Ask you to authorise the transfer of funds to a new account or hand over cash
- Call to advise you to buy gold, land or other commodities
- Ask you to carry out a test transaction online
- Provide banking services through any mobile apps other than the bank’s official apps
This is not a definitive list, as fraudsters will continue to find new ways to scam you out of your money. With these tips should help you keep your bank account safe and always be wary of giving bank or card details when spending money.
