UK banks are again being impersonated on the phone. Callers claim to be from a fraud team. They say a payment is about to leave, a card has been cloned, or the police need you to move money to a “safe account”. Some quote last digits of a card so the story feels verified. Partial knowledge is not proof they work for the bank.
Hang up. Do not stay on the line while you “call the bank back”. That trick keeps the original caller connected. Use a number on your card, or call 159, the UK number that puts you through to participating banks’ fraud teams. Do not install AnyDesk, TeamViewer, or any remote-access tool because an unexpected caller asked you to watch a refund.
They may ask for a one-time passcode from a text or banking app. Those codes approve payments and new payees. Read them out and you may be authorising the theft yourself. That overlap with authorised push payment fraud is explained in our longer bank impersonation guide in the Safety Centre. Read that guide before you assume a calm, well-informed caller must be genuine.
Take Five still applies. Stop. Challenge the story on a channel you chose. Protect codes and accounts. Genuine staff will not tell you to keep the call secret from family, and they will not rush you into a transfer while they wait on speaker.
If you have already moved money or shared a code, contact the bank immediately and say you believe it is fraud, including APP fraud if you confirmed the payment. Report it to Action Fraud when you can. GOV.UK Stop Think Fraud is a calm official page if you need to reset. Call 999 if you are in immediate danger, or 101 for a non-emergency crime.
Embarrassment is common. It is not a reason to send a second payment to “reverse” the first. It is not a reason to stay quiet. Tell someone you trust.
Search the number that showed on your screen on WhoCalledMe. Community reports can show a matching fraud-team script. They are not proof that a private individual committed a crime, and caller ID can be spoofed. If the same caller keeps changing line, add every number on one factual report. Note the time and what they asked for. Do not paste card numbers, PINs, or passcodes.
Block the latest number if that helps. Blocking is not a verdict. A new display with the same script is the same warning in a new costume. Use 159, read the full bank impersonation guide, and keep your report to facts.
