New payment set up? Get in touch! The bank scam where your ‘bank’ is the scammer
Impersonation scams, in which fraudsters pose as banks, HMRC, phone providers or the police, are becoming more common and more costly across the UK. Victims typically receive a text claiming a payment has been set up on their account, prompting them to call a number where a scammer then persuades them to move money to a "safe account" or hand over their bank card for supposed protection.
Lloyds Bank reported that fraudsters impersonating trusted organisations stole 10% more from customers in the year to June than the previous year, with average losses rising 10% to £3,516, even as the number of reported scams fell 3%. Santander said more than £3m had been stolen from customers this year through bank impersonation scams alone, averaging £6,000 per victim. Experts advise ignoring messages from mobile numbers claiming to be a bank, hanging up and calling back using the number on your card, and using tools such as Nationwide's in-app "call checker" to verify genuine calls.
- Bank impersonation scams are rising sharply in cost across the UK
- Lloyds customers lost 10% more; average loss now £3,516
- Always verify by calling your bank back on a trusted number
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Impersonation scams involve fraudsters pretending to be trusted organisations, such as a bank, HMRC, a phone company or the police, in order to trick people into handing over money or personal details. A common version starts with a text message claiming a payment has just been set up on the recipient's account, which prompts them to call a number where a scammer poses as bank staff and persuades them to transfer money to a so-called "safe account" or hand over their bank card.
These scams are drawing attention because banks are reporting rising losses. Lloyds and Santander are among those tracking the problem, and both have published figures showing thousands of pounds lost per victim on average, even as overall scam reports have not necessarily risen at the same rate. This matters because it shows fraudsters are becoming more effective at extracting larger sums, often from people who believe they are speaking to a genuine, trusted institution.
Banks and consumer groups are now pushing awareness of simple defences, such as not trusting calls or texts from unknown mobile numbers claiming to be a bank, and using official verification tools built into some banking apps. Understanding how these scams work, and why banks never legitimately ask customers to move money to a "safe account", is central to the ongoing public conversation about fraud prevention.