Protect yourself from scammers

• You get a call, email or text message that seems to be from someone you know or have dealings with. Scammers can make it look like these communications are coming from a genuine email address or phone number – a company name or someone you know. This is called ‘number spoofing’.
• The person calls you claiming to be from Cashplus or another bank and warns you of suspected fraud transactions on your account. They’ll ask you to provide a One Time Password (OTP) from your Cashplus app to cancel the transaction.
  
  In reality, this is a scammer trying to make a purchase on your account, but they need the OTP to complete the purchase. They may request the OTP verbally or by asking you to enter it into the phone keypad. Once the OTP is provided and the transaction goes through, the caller will either hang up or attempt another transaction and request another OTP.
  
  Never share your One Time Passwords or logins with anyone, even someone claiming to be from Cashplus.
• The person contacting you may say they need money, that you have a bill to pay or that there’s a problem with your account or security. If anyone asks you for money or personal information urgently, never just agree. Always be suspicious.
• They will try to panic you into making a rushed decision. They may say you have to act immediately to protect yourself by moving money to another account or paying the bill there and then. Don’t – this is a scam.

• If anyone ever contacts you asking for an unfamiliar payment or to transfer money to a ‘safe account’ or that you’re ‘at risk’, it’s a scam. Hang up or delete the message.
• Be very careful opening links and attachments in text messages and emails. Make sure the sender is legitimate (try clicking on the sender email address to see the full unmasked address) and don’t open anything asking for personal information or payment. Instead, go to a trusted source like a company website, find a phone number or email and contact them to see if it was genuine.
• Never give someone who’s called you out of the blue remote access to your computer or any other device.

• You see supposed celebrities or people you know endorsing and sharing get-rich-quick schemes on social media, and so think they’re genuine.
• You speak to someone from a well-known company with seemingly genuine credentials, but it’s actually a scammer pretending to be them.

• Be wary of adverts online and on social media, as they can be fake – even if it seems like they’re endorsed by celebrities or friends. Do your own research and read reviews to make absolutely sure it’s genuine.
• If an offer or investment seems too good to be true, it almost always is. Speak to someone you trust about it or even better, a qualified financial adviser.
• Check the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) website to see if the investment is with a regulated firm or individual. The FCA shows registered contact details for all genuine companies so you can call them directly to make sure the investment is legitimate.
• While you’re there, check the FCA Warning List for cloned companies known to be operating without FCA authorisation.

• You’re online and see an advert for something that looks legitimate – you may have found it yourself or someone you know may have posted or shared it. Click on it and the link takes you to a fake website designed to con you.
• Just because the website or social network where you see an advert is legitimate, it doesn’t mean the advert is. Fake adverts could be for anything from clothes to cars, but pay extra care when shopping for high-end items – designer labels, musical equipment, etc.

• Always pay by debit or credit card, or via one of the secure payment methods reputable online retailers and auction sites recommend, as this could give you more protection.
• If you can, go and see the item in person first to make sure it exists, especially if it’s something expensive like a car.
• Research and read reviews to check the website and seller are genuine.
• Always open the website you’re buying from by typing it into your web browser. Never click on links in emails you may get or in adverts on social media.
• If a deal seems too good to be true, it almost always is.

• You find a loan you want to take out and the lender asks you to pay an admin fee up front to secure it, but the loan isn’t genuine.
• You pay to enter a competition online or on social media but it’s not real and there are no prizes. Or you're told you’ve won a competition (whether you’ve entered it or not) but need to pay an admin fee to get the prize, which doesn’t actually exist.
• You’re offered a job but told you need to pay a fee to cover background checks, a training course or something similar. You pay, but the job doesn't really exist.
• You find a rental property you want but aren’t allowed to look around. You’re asked for a deposit to secure the rental and only later find out the property’s not really for rent.
• You get a surprise call to say you’ve inherited money from a long-lost relative. The caller says you need to pay a fee for a deposit or admin charge that you’ll get back later, but you never do – and the inheritance doesn’t exist.

• Never trust requests for up-front payment on loans, goods or services, especially if you haven’t ordered them.
• Be wary of online or social media competitions that ask you to pay to enter, or of anyone who says there’s a fee to claim a prize.
• Remember, you can’t win a lottery or competition that you didn’t enter.
• If you find a job advert you like online or on social media, don’t click on it. Independently research the company to make sure they have a legitimate website or office address – type the URL into your browser and check the address on Google Maps.
• Never pay money to start a job.
• Stick to using established and well-known estate agents and don't sign a rental agreement or pay a deposit if you haven’t visited the property (and been inside).
• If you’ve been contacted by someone claiming to be from a company, always hang up and phone back on a number you know to be correct.
• Don’t trust anything that seems too good to be true, as it almost always is.

• You get an email or invoice asking for payment from an individual or company you know, like your builder or solicitor, perhaps even as part of a thread of real messages. But scammers have intercepted the email on route and changed the payment account details. They may hassle you to pay quickly in the hope you won’t notice the different payment details.

• Check the payee name on the account matches the name of the person or company you’ve been dealing with. If it doesn’t, call them on a number you know is real to check.
• Before making payment, contact the sender on a number you trust to confirm the account details on the invoice are correct.

• You start talking to someone on a dating app or social media but they make excuses whenever you ask to meet up. If they ask you to send them money, perhaps for a family emergency for example, be very suspicious.

• Never give someone money if you haven’t met in person, even if you’ve been talking to them for a long time. This is especially true if they claim a family crisis or emergency and ask for money suddenly and urgently.
• If in doubt, ask someone you know and trust for their advice.

• Someone contacts you claiming to have a great investment opportunity for people who have access to their pension. They ask you to transfer a (usually) large sum from your pension to another account and then steal it.
• They may claim that rules don’t apply to this particular opportunity or lie about how pension tax works. You could even end up owing tax on the money you’ve transferred.

• Talk to a pension specialist before you make any changes to your pension or withdraw any money from it.
• Check the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) website to see if the individual or company that contacted you is regulated. The FCA shows registered contact details for all genuine companies so you can call them directly to make sure the investment is legitimate.
• Don’t trust anything that seems too good to be true, as it almost always is.

Scammers will lie to you and make you think your account is at risk and then ask you to move money to a safe account.

There’s been a spike in criminals pretending to be from trustworthy organisations, like banks or the police. A common tactic is to replicate the Caller ID of the organisation which means a call or SMS could appear as coming from Cashplus.

Cashplus, or any other legitimate bank, will never reach out and ask you to transfer money to keep it safe.

Be cautious of anyone reaching out and asking you to: 

1. Move money into a different account – especially for safety purposes 
2. Provide any of the following: 

• Your PIN 
• Your Account Number 
• Your 16-digit Card Number or the security code on the back of your card 
• Your Online Banking Username or Password 
• Any verification code from your Online Banking or app 
• Your SMS one-time passcode 

 We’ll never contact you and ask for the personal information above. Scammers could reach out through a range of methods, most commonly calls. Here’s a guide on what to expect when talking to the Cashplus team. 

To help remain safe, treat anyone contacting you to transfer money cautiously. If you’re ever unsure, hang up and call us back.  

• Someone knocks on your door and talks you into paying for some work they say needs to be done on your house, like fixing the roof.
• They may begin the work and ask you to start paying as they go, asking for more and more as time passes, playing on the fact you’re now committed to the work. They end up charging far more than they quoted.
• They may ask you to pay for materials up front, go to buy them and never come back.

• Don’t believe anyone who turns up at your door claiming your house needs work. Before agreeing to any work, get a second opinion from a friend and a second quote from a trader you trust.
• Before employing a trader or handing over any money, check them out first. Read online reviews, see if they’re members of trade bodies and trader directories.
• Don’t feel pressured into buying something on your doorstep, no matter how convincing the salesperson may be. Be polite but firm and close the door.