Keeping Your Money Safe

You’ve worked hard to earn your money, so naturally, you want to keep it safe. Especially from fraudsters who are constantly looking for new ways to steal your money.

Here are some of the things you can do to protect yourself.

How to spot the warning signs of fraud

Fraudsters use lots of different ways to make it look like you’re dealing with a legitimate company, or even your bank. Here’s how you can spot the fakes:

Email

Fraudsters often send you emails pretending to be your bank. These can sometimes look legitimate, but there are a few ways to tell if it’s fake:

• There are basic grammatical issues or spelling errors
• The links in the emails don’t match the official website address
• The sender's email address is a gmail account or similar, not a company email
• The branding doesn’t match the normal emails you get from the business
• They’re trying to rush you or put pressure on you to do something

If you think that it’s spam, please report it to your email provider. Every time you report spam, it can help to takedown the wider ecosystem of criminals.

Calls

Just because it looks like it’s your bank calling you, doesn’t always mean it is. Fraudsters can clone phone numbers to make it look like your bank.

If someone calls and tells you that your money’s not safe and you need to move it into a ‘safe’ account, it’s a scam. If you get a call asking anything about your bank account, even if they claim to be the police, end the call. Then call us on 03459 758 758 and we’ll make sure your account is safe.

If you receive a spam call on an iPhone, you can report it to your provider by texting the word ‘call’ followed by the phone number to 7726. On Android, text the word ‘call’ to 7726. You’ll then receive a message asking for the scam number.

Texts (SMS)

There are a number of different text message scams aimed at stealing your bank or card details. If you weren’t expecting a text and one comes through don’t click on any links or call any numbers in the text.

You can report spam or scam texts directly to your mobile phone provider free of charge by forwarding the text message to 7726.

WhatsApp messages can be reported by selecting them in your conversation and tapping ‘report’. To report the sender on WhatsApp, open up the chat, tap on the sender's contact details and select 'block and report’.

Read our Guide to Fraud Q&A

Common scams to look out for

Social engineering

This is when someone tricks you into handing over personal information, such as passwords or bank details. They may even try to install software on your computer so they can access your computer and bank account.

Investment or money-making opportunities

If you’ve heard of the phrase “too good to be true” this is essentially how investment scams work. Someone will suggest you invest your money in an opportunity that seems too good to miss – often with guaranteed returns.

Be very careful and make sure you do plenty of research before making any investment decision. With scams like these, people have handed over thousands – often over the space of years – and as soon as they try to ‘cash in’ their contact disappears taking all the money with them. Sometimes, the investment does exist and the scammer simply takes your money instead of putting it in the opportunity.

Always research who you’re dealing with before making any decisions, if they don’t seem legitimate, don’t use them.

Purchase scams

If you’re shopping on online marketplaces, be careful who you send money to. Try and avoid sending money via bank transfer, or using services like PayPal Friends and Family, until you receive the goods. If you can, use the marketplace's official payment method.

Here are a few things to look out for that may help you avoid scams:

• New sellers, especially if they’ve only joined the site recently
• Sellers who attempt to move conversations to a different platform
• Product descriptions that are vague or missing information
• Ads that use generic images that are not unique
• Product or sellers that are listed in multiple locations

5 ways to increase your TSB bank account’s security

1. Download the TSB Mobile Banking app and set up Fingerprint or FaceID login (if your phone allows it). This makes it much easier for you to login, while also being extremely secure.
2. Keep your phone, computer, and browser up to date with the latest security updates. If you’re running an old version of software you’re more open to being hacked.
3. Protect your PIN, UserID, and password. Never share them with anyone, not even TSB colleagues. Use a strong password that’s different from any others you use and consider changing it from time to time.
4. Be careful what you share on social media. Sometimes we don’t realise what information is publicly available about us. It’s also worth reviewing your privacy settings and restricting who can see what.
5. Very importantly - never feel pressured into moving or sending money to someone. Even if it’s someone you know, double-check it's really them by giving them a call or asking a question only they know the answer to. If in doubt, give us a call or chat to us in the app.

Find out more information over at our Fraud Prevention Centre.