There are many different types of fraud that can affect you as an Individual customer. Here are the more common ones, what they look like and how you can protect yourself:
Protect yourself from fraud
Common scams and how you can keep your accounts, money and information safe
Telephone fraud or ‘vishing’
Someone phones you, claiming to work for your bank, broadband provider or even the police.
They say that fraudsters have hacked your account.
They may ask you for sensitive security information to stop any money leaving. This could include your log-on card number or card reader response codes.
They may also suggest moving your money to a safe account, ask you to pay a fee, or to send a test payment to an account.
Of course, the caller is a fraudster. If they have enough information, they’ll be able to access and empty your accounts. Because they may know your personal details, they can sound very convincing and put you under pressure to act quickly.
How to stay safe
Remember that these scammers can ‘spoof’ genuine phone numbers, such as ours. This is when they change their caller ID to make you think someone familiar is calling you. But there’s one thing to remember - we’ll never phone you and ask you for personal information. If you’re on a call and feel uncomfortable, hang up immediately. Don’t worry about being rude. Contact your account manager or Customer Connect on 0800 470 8000.
We’ll never ask you for your internet banking security information, including your log-on card number, PIN or codes from your card reader. Remember – these codes are used to authorise payments. You shouldn’t share them with anyone.
Just because our number comes up when your phone rings, it doesn’t always mean it’s us. We won’t mind if you hang up or question whether you’re really speaking to us. As well as this, anyone saying they’re from ‘Handelsbanken Internet Security’ is lying.
We’ll never ask you to pay a fee to stop a fraudulent transaction, ask you to send a test payment or ask you to move your money to another account to keep it safe.
Email fraud or ‘phishing’
‘Phishing’ emails try to trick you into sharing personal details or clicking on a fake link. At first, they may look genuine. They could appear to be from your bank, your broadband provider, or another trusted source like HMRC. They may ask you to click on a link or open an attached file.
How to stay safe
If you get an email that claims to be from us, but that asks you for sensitive information, you can ignore it. If it asks you to open an attachment or click a link, be very cautious. You can check if a link is real by hovering over it with your cursor, but without clicking on it, to see if it’s the website address you expect. Also have a look at how the email’s written. Bad spelling or grammar suggests this email is not as it seems.
Fraudsters are very good at replicating emails so don’t assume an email is genuine just because it looks convincing. Instead, contact Customer Connect or your account manager to see if it really did come from us. Please forward any suspicious emails to reportphish@handelsbanken.se (don’t send a screenshot or image of the email).
Text message fraud - 'smishing'
You may receive a text message that may appear to be legitimate. It could seem to have come from us, another bank, the Royal Mail, a supplier, or someone who might normally send you a text.
It will try to catch you with your guard down. This could be asking you pay for a missed delivery or asking you to move money because your account has been compromised.
You might be asked to provide your user name, password, account number, credit card number or other confidential information, or the message may ask you to click on a link. Clicking on this link will then download a virus or malware onto your device.
Sometimes the sender may just be an unknown mobile number, but it may appear as a familiar name, like your bank or the Royal Mail. This doesn't mean it's real. Criminals can spoof these and mask the origin of their own scam texts.
How to stay safe
If you receive text messages appearing to come from Handelsbanken with questions like this, don’t reply.
Be careful of any text message that asks you to click a link, especially if it’s anything that encourages you to act quickly.
If the message claims to be from Handelsbanken, it may say your account has been compromised or ask you to confirm if you recognise a payment.
Remember that we’ll never send you a text message with a link in it.
Contact your branch or Handelsbanken Customer Connect immediately.
WhatsApp family scam
You’ll get a message that’s something like this:
‘Hey Mum, I’ve lost my phone so this is my new number. I need to pay a bill today and can’t get into my banking app. Can you send me £50 to cover it? I’ll pay you back. Send it to my friend’s account.’
They’ll include the ‘friend’s’ account details or a link to transfer the money.
How to stay safe
It can be hard to resist a scam if the fraudsters are posing as a loved one or friend in need.
You may get a text or WhatsApp message claiming to be from someone you know who’s just changed their phone number and needs money. Don’t click on anything or reply.
Phone or video call them on the number you already have saved for them and double-check it was actually them.
These messages aren’t sophisticated. They’re sent in bulk, so you may get a ‘Hey Mum’ message if you aren’t a mother or a ‘Hi Dad’ text if you’re not a father. It’s easy to ignore in that case. But the scammers want to take advantage of those messages that do hit their targets – people who are moved to help their children without thinking what they’re doing.
Identity theft
This is where fraudsters use personal information like name, date of birth, current or previous addresses to fraudulently:
- Open bank accounts.
- Take out credit, loans or phone contracts.
- Order goods and services.
- Take over existing contracts or subscriptions.
How to stay safe
Don’t ignore it. Act quickly. If you think you’ve been a victim of identity fraud report it to the relevant organisations. If you’re not sure which organisation to call, contact Action Fraud for advice.
Investment fraud
Fraudsters take advantage of people’s weakness for ‘get rich quick’ investments. They do this either through cold calling or false ads on social media, promising high returns once you’ve signed up. To take out the fake investment you’re asked personal information and then asked to make a deposit. This is often followed up by a call to encourage you to “invest” more for a better return.
How to stay safe
By following some basic guidance you can help protect yourself
- Do your research and get some independent advice. A lack of understanding can lead to you losing money.
- Take a moment to think. If an offer looks too good to be true, it probably is.
- Be wary of anything that promises “guaranteed returns”. There’s no such thing with genuine investments.
- Any advertisement can be made to look professional to convince you it’s from a genuine source, don’t assume it is real.
- Make sure the website you’re using has all the usual security signs: a padlock in the address bar and an ‘s’ in https.
- Be wary of celebrity endorsements, which aren’t always real.
- As with all fraud, you should never feel pressured into making a decision about investing your money.
Romance scams/ online dating fraud
Fraudsters create fake profiles on dating sites and apps, often using stolen photos from a legitimate profile. After getting you to lower your guard, they’ll start asking you for money.
This is a particularly effective scam because it plays on the basic human desire for love and companionship. The criminals prey on everyone, but are especially keen to get you at your most vulnerable – if you’re widowed, recently divorced, recovering from illness, and so on.
They can be very sophisticated and spend months gaining your trust and getting to know you. But they’re only doing it to understand your background, situation and how much they can get from you.
Signs to look out for:
- They claim to have strong feelings at an early stage.
- They’ll often say they live overseas, or travel frequently for business.
- They are evasive about meeting up in person or virtually. They’ll always have an excuse, although they may be willing to talk on the phone so you can only hear their voice.
- The ‘sob story’. They may tell a story about needing money for an emergency; an ill family member, they’ve been a victim of theft or they are stranded or in debt.
- Although they will usually ask you for money, they may be clever enough to not ask you directly, but to share their ‘problem’ and take advantage of your kindness by hoping you offer to help.
- If the victim challenges them, they’ll make them feel guilty by saying things like “I thought you loved me.”
How to stay safe
Have you met this person face to face? If you’ve only spoken to them online or by text or email, this person may not be who they say they are.
Even if you have met them, ask yourself why someone you haven’t known for long would ask you for money.
In addition, be careful with what you tell this person about yourself, especially if you haven’t met them. Fraudsters have been known to take out loans and credit cards in the names of their victims.
Case study:
BBC News reported on Kirsty, a single mother from Harrogate who’d met a man online. When he’d gained her trust, he invented a story that he’d been attacked when on a business trip to Turkey, even sending her (fake) photos of him in hospital. Crucially, he didn’t ask her for money directly, but he asked her to access his bank account to arrange payment of his hospital bills. The link he sent his victim looked like a legitimate online banking page but it was fake.
As Kirsty was trying to make the payment, the site told her she’d been locked out of the account. The man phoned her angrily, claiming he wouldn’t be able to pay his bill. He managed to persuade Kirsty to send £5,000 of her own money to cover the hospital bill, since he’d tricked her into thinking it was her fault it hadn’t been paid.
SIM swapping
Also called simjacking or simsplitting, this happens when fraudsters clone a mobile number, giving them access to online bank accounts, messages and calls.
How to stay safe
Call your mobile provider if you receive notifications that your SIM card has been ported or for a PAC request. Use two factor authentication when resetting passwords, rather than using a mobile number.
Additional support
Knowing how fraudsters work is one of the best ways to protect yourself. You'll find organisations here who are dedicated to fighting fraud and podcasts from our very own fraud experts, to help to stay one step ahead of scams.