Santander UK has urged people to be on “high alert” to impersonation scams, after the number of its customers targeted by fraudsters doubled last month.
More than 200 of the bank’s corporate and commercial banking customers are known to have been targeted in September.
The banking group has warned criminals are using sophisticated methods to impersonate a bank employee, then tricking people into sending thousands of pounds to a fraudster’s account.
The tactic sees criminals call a business and pretend to be from the firm’s bank, often purporting to be in the fraud or security department.
Santander UK said criminals are calling a business and pretending to be from the firm’s bank
GETTY
Scammers then claim that a “fraudulent payment” has been made from the firm’s bank account.
The callers sometimes go as far as to give a fake reference number or employee ID, and then direct the person to a fake website or phone number, to supposedly resolve the issue.
Worryingly, the fraudsters then instruct or trick the victim into installing a remote access system on their device, giving criminals access to it.
In the next step, the scammer directs them to log into their mobile banking and authorise a transaction, which will supposedly stop the “fraudulent payment” from leaving the firm’s bank account.
In reality, people are being tricked into sending the money directly to a fraudster’s bank account.
Chris Ainsley, Santander UK’s head of fraud risk management, said: “Impersonation scams are rampant and the criminals perpetrating these crimes can be particularly devious in their approach.
“Businesses should remain on high alert to this threat.
“Don’t trust people who make an unsolicited call to you and say they are from your bank, and make sure you validate any requests from cold callers by hanging up and contacting your bank using the phone number on the back of your bank card.”
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Santander UK is warning people to never share passwords or security codes with anyone
PA
A voice recording taken by a business customer, shared with the PA news agency, shows a caller claiming to be from “Santander’s business banking team” and insisting they have blocked a payment of more than £18,000.
The customer is told to validate this, before being given a phone number to contact the so-called “higher fraud department”.
The bank is urging businesses and personal customers alike to never share any passwords or security codes with anyone, not even a bank employee, and to not allow anyone remote access to their device.
People should only use a mobile app to authenticate a transaction they have selected themselves in online banking.
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2023-10-18 23:04:46Z
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