Each year, hundred of millions of pounds are stolen from people by scammers pretending to be from their bank.

In late autumn 2021, a new 159 fraud hotline was created to counter the epidemic of online fraud connected to bank accounts.

On calling 159, the person is put through to their bank’s fraud prevention service who will take the information and deal with the problem.

Anyone who receives a call or message from somebody claiming to be from a trusted organisation and who suggests money should be transferred is being urged to hang up and call 159.

In 2020, criminal gangs stole over £470m by pretending to be the victim’s bank or other service provider.

Call 159 if:

• Someone contacts you saying they’re from your bank – even if they do not appear to be suspicious
• You receive a call asking you to transfer money or make a payment – even if it seems genuine
• You receive a call about a financial matter and it seems suspicious

Remember, 159 will never call you.

Who is behind 159?

159 has been set up by banks and telephone companies who want to fight fraud. It’s a pilot scheme initially and the following banks are part of it: Barclays, Lloyds (including Halifax and Bank of Scotland), NatWest (including Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank), Santander, Starling Bank.

That covers over 70% of UK primary current account holders.

159 is a pilot scheme – the idea is to collect evidence to show that calling 159 helps fight fraud. Then hopefully, 159 can become available on all phones and for all banks.

The new service is being promoted by Stop Scams UK – a coalition of banking and technology companies.

If you have any experiences with these scams do let me know, by email.