Scammers are very good at pretending to be banks. A text or email can look completely genuine — right logo, right colours, right language — and still be fake. Here is how to tell the difference and what to do when you are unsure.
What Banks Will Never Do
Genuine banks have strict rules about how they contact customers. Understanding these removes most of the doubt:
- Your bank will never ask for your full PIN or full password in a text, email, or phone call.
- Your bank will never ask you to transfer your money to a “safe account.” If someone claims your money is at risk and you need to move it urgently, it is a scam.
- Your bank will never send a link asking you to confirm your details from scratch. If a link takes you to a page asking you to enter your full card number, PIN, and password, it is not your bank.
- Your bank will never pressure you to act immediately without giving you time to think or verify.
How to Check a Suspicious Text
- Do not tap any links in the message. Instead, open your bank’s app directly or type your bank’s address into your browser manually.
- Look at the sender number or email address. Scam texts often come from random mobile numbers. However, some scammers can spoof official-looking names, so this alone is not proof a message is genuine.
- Check whether the message uses your name. Most real bank messages use your first name. “Dear customer” is a common sign of a bulk scam message.
How to Check a Suspicious Email
- Hover over any links before clicking (on a computer). The real destination appears at the bottom of your screen. If the address looks odd or does not match your bank’s real website, do not click.
- Check the sender’s email address in full — not just the display name. Scammers set the display name to “Barclays” or “HSBC” but the actual address is something completely different.
- Look for poor spelling and grammar. Real bank communications are proofread. Errors are a warning sign.
When in Doubt, Contact Your Bank Directly
Call the number on the back of your debit or credit card. This number is verified and goes straight to your bank — not to wherever a scam message might redirect you. Do not use any phone number provided in the suspicious message itself.
If you believe you have received a scam message in the UK, you can forward it to 7726 (free on most networks). For suspicious emails, forward them to [email protected].
The golden rule: when something feels urgent and pressured, slow down. That urgency is a deliberate tool scammers use. Your bank will always give you time to verify before taking action.