The scam “cold Callers” have a new and significant weapon in their armoury.  It’s a disturbing development which enables a scam caller to realistically claim to be a bank security official alerting the victim that there is evidence of tampering with their bank account.

Not entirely convinced, a victim challenged the caller for an ID and was able to convince the victim that they were an authentic bank official (in this case Santander).     When asked by the victim “How do I know you are the bank security official ?” –   the caller asked for the victim’s mobile no. and said he’d call back with evidence.    With this next call he was able to display on the Caller ID the same phone no that was on the victim’s Santander Bank Card.
The victim still had doubts but was persuaded  by this and the confident handling (a quiet Scottish accent who knew the name of the victim and readily volunteered his own name).   The victim then followed instructions to transfer funds to a new Sort Code and Account no. supplied by the fake “bank official”.

In all, some £50,000 was speedily transferred out of the victim’s account. The victim, having some later qualms too late, called Santander and established that the named person was not a member of their staff.    The incident is still being investigated by the police and Santander has not undertaken to compensate fully for the recovery of the lost funds.

Please advise your NHW Members of this development and remind them not to be persuaded by this Caller ID tactic and to ensure the need to take all the necessary precautions as follows :

• Your bank will never discuss this kind of transaction over the phone.  
• Before you commit to transferring any funds as requested, you should make a separate call to your known phone number contact with the bank to confirm the authenticity of the caller.  
• When you do this, firstly ensure that your phone line is clear of the caller (i.e. that you have a proper dialling tone) or use another phone / mobile to ensure you are making proper contact with your bank.

Remember, if you have any doubts about the caller’s authenticity, break off phone contact and carry out your own checks as recommended above.

Click Here to view Caller ID Number Spoofing  Action Fraud Leaflet