Staying Safe With Your Money Online (Without Becoming Paranoid)
Last week I was talking about moving a big lump of money from the UK to Sweden and I mentioned some of the things I did, and checks I made, to make sure my money was as safe as possible. The banks and services were on it too - asking me if I was being forced to make the payment, where the money had come from, why I was transferring so much. I even baffled one bank by sending £1 as a test payment before the rest of the multiple tens of thousands.
I am totally grateful for this because, as you know from reading this blog, money is about more than just £££ in your account - this lump sum is a representation of hard work, a culmination of one huge part of my life, a step into my new life and a huge investment. If it had gone wrong for me here, I would have been devastated.
And the scammers are getting very good!
So this will be a practical one - how to keep your money safe online, some common scams, what to set up now and what to do if something goes wrong. I’ll point you to some official places too if you want to read around a bit.
First Thing To Say Is, This Isn’t About Being Clever
Falling for a scam doesn’t mean you’re stupid. Scammers are professionals and they’re good at making you feel rushed, frightened or flattered which is exactly when the thinking part of your brain switches off. If it didn’t work they wouldn’t do it, and if it doesn’t work on you they’ll just hop off to the next person.
Most scams depend on urgency (‘do this now’), authority (‘this is your bank/HMRC/the police’) or secrecy (‘don’t tell anybody otherwise…*). If you spot any of these, it’s your key to stop.
Take Five To Stop Fraud
Take Five to Stop Fraud is a UK national campaign to empower individuals and businesses to protect themselves from fraud. They boil it down to three words:
Stop. Take a minute before you give anybody your money or information.
Challenge. Could it be fake? It’s fine to refuse, ignore or hang up.
Protect. If you think you’d been scammed, contact your bank or the police right away.
Scams To Know About
I’m not suggesting that you memorise them, but get a feel for the shape of them:
Bank impersonation and ‘safe account’ scams. Somebody rings or texts pretending to be your bank, or maybe the police, saying your money is at risk and you need to move it to a ‘safe account’. Your bank will never ask you to do that - ever. Hang up and call your bank by using the number on the back of your card or 159 (this one is cool, a bit more coming on that later).
Fake texts and emails. It might be a missed parcel, unpaid toll, HMRC refund, ‘suspicious activity’ on your account. The link will go to a lookalike site which steals your login information as soon as you type it in. Don’t even tap, ignore it. If you’re curious or worried then go to the real site or app by typing it in yourself.
‘Hi Mum’ messages. This will be a text or a whatsapp from an unknown number saying they’ve lost their phone and need money urgently. Ring the person on their old number immediately. This has actually happened to me and my mum - she didn’t fall for it thank goodness!
Investment scams. These can look like really slick adverts, fake celebrity endorsement and ‘guaranteed returns’. AI is making it even more difficult to ascertain which of these might be right but a guarantee on a return in any investment is a pretty good clue. You can check any firm on the FCA register and remember to be wary or anything that’s urgent, secret or too good to be true.
Buying Scams. Another ‘if it seems too good to be true…’ thing. A too-cheap item on Marketplace and a request to pay by bank transfer. Paying by card or through a protected payment platform like Paypal will usually be much safer.
Set These Up Now (It’s Gonna Take About 20 Minutes)
Use a different password for every important account and make your email your strongest one. Your email is really the master key to all of your ‘forgot my password’ links, so everything else lands there. A password manager is the gold standard and I’m going to be a little controversial and suggest writing these down is not a bad idea. The biggest risk is a scammer in another country i.e. remote from you, not somebody going through your drawers, so a password written down, but disguised, is going to be much safer than the same weak password used again and again.
Turn on two-factor authentication. It’s a faff and a bother, I hate it every time, but it means that if somebody does get your passwords then they’re still not necessarily straight in. An authenticator app or a passkey is generally stronger than a text message code.
Keep your devices and apps updated. Updates often fix security blips so switch on auto-updates.
Download banking apps only from the official app store and type in their website addresses yourself rather than clicking links from messages or search adverts.
Be careful on public wifi. For anything involving money, just use your mobile data instead.
Turn on payment notifications and check your limits. Most banking apps will let you set transfer limits and allow you to get a ping for every payment which will allow you to notice weird things early. It’s super stressful if somebody does get a hold of your card and start spending (or trying to) with wild abandon but it gives you the best chance to get ahead of it.
Take the ‘name doesn’t match’ thing seriously. When you send a bank transfer to a new-to-you account, your bank will check whether the name you typed matches the account (a.k.a. Confirmation of Payee). If it says no match, stop and check again - it’s a useful service!
If Your Bank Asks Questions, Just Answer Them
There are certain points at which a bank, because of their own policies or the law or a combination of the both, have to ask questions. This will generally be to determine whether there is a scam at play or whether you’re involved in money laundering.
They might ask questions about where money has come from, where it’s going and why, whether the money belongs to you, if anybody has forced you to move it or told you what to say or if they’re rushing you to do something. Scammers will often coach their victims to lie to the bank, so if anybody has told you to give a different reason for a payment, that alone is a sign that something is wrong.
Answering honestly, as I did about the test payment, might make you feel a bit silly or whatever - especially if they don’t get it - but do the right thing, explain what you’re doing and you’ll be alright.
These questions can feel nosy and a bit annoying, especially on top of two-factor authentication, the confirmation of payee stuff and double checking all your figures but it’s there for a reason and we can simply turn it into a moment of gratitude - that there are systems in place to look after us and our money, and vulnerable people in society.
If Something Goes Wrong: The First Hour
If you think you’ve been scammed, the key is speed and not feeling ashamed. Here’s the order I’d be doing stuff in:
Call your bank straight away. Or instant message is how I’d do it probably, then I’ve got everything there to refer back to. Use the number on the back of your card, or dial 159 (more on that soon, I promise!). Tell them what happened and ask them to stop or recall the payment, and secure your account.
Change your passwords from a device that you trust - start with your email and banking.
Report it. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland report to Report Fraud (the service that replaced Action Fraud) at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040 and in Scotland you go straight through to Police Scotland on 101.
Report the method. Forward scam texts to 7726, which is free and goes to your mobile provider and forward scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.
If your identity might be involved, you can check your credit report (this is a longer term thing, it will take a few weeks to update usually) and you might even consider Cifas Protective Registration which places a marker on your details so any organisations who are checking your credit because ‘you’ are applying for products or services are aware that there is a high probability that this is fraudulent.
Will You Get Your Money Back?
Most often, yes.
Since October 2024, UK banks and payment firms must reimburse most victims of ‘authorised push payment’ fraud (where you were tricked into sending a bank transfer) on Faster Payments and CHAPS, up to £85,000 per claim. The bank has to decide within five business days (up to 35 days if they need more time to investigate), and they can charge an excess of up to £100 (though not for vulnerable customers). You need to report within 13 months of the last payment.
There are exceptions though, including civil disputes and cases where a customer has been grossly negligent, so it isn’t automatic, which is a very good reason to call your bank quickly and be straightforward with them.
Card payments have different protections so check with your bank on them.
Call 159
This is a great service run by Stop Scams UK. The idea is that if you get a call you think is odd, claiming to be from your bank for example, you hang up, ring 159 and are connected with a centralised automated switchboard. You tell them the name of your bank and they connect you directly with the bank’s legitimate fraud or customer service helpline.
It’s free to use. And easy to remember number (a diagonal line through 1 to 9). And they do a great job.
The End
You don’t have to become suspicious of everything, life is hard enough, just a few habits so your brain doesn’t have to work it out under pressure. Stop, challenge and protect, set up the basics once, have a passing acquaintance with some common scams and know who to call if you need.
No need to feel embarrassed about being nearly caught out (or actually being caught out), I promise you’re in good company and it would be great to share because it will help us all out!
Love Eleanor. xxx’
