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Fraud guide

Impersonation Scams

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Top tips to stay safe Open in new window
How to spot this scam Open in new window
Other types of scams Open in new window
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Scam watch: Bank impersonation scams are on the rise

  1. Be aware of fake messages or calls supposedly from Royal Bank of Scotland claiming a payment is on hold or asking you to verify a transaction. Learn more about how to avoid this scam.
  2. Scammers are impersonating banks, the police and retailers. Never share your card or PIN with anyone. Your bank, retailers, the police and fraud investigation teams will never ask you to hand over your card, PIN or buy items for collection. If someone does, it's a scam.

Tips to stay safe

These type of scams involve criminals pretending to be a trusted organisation such as a bank, the police, a government department or a service provider.

  1. Your bank or the police will never ask you to transfer money to a safe account or ask for your full PIN, password or passcode.
  2. The bank won’t phone you and ask you to approve a payment – only approve payments that you know you’ve made yourself.​
  3. We will never ask you to generate a Get Cash code and share it with us for authorisation purposes.
  4. Contact your bank or an organisation directly using a known email or phone number.
  5. Don’t give anyone remote access to your computer or install any applications or software to your computer or devices following a cold call or unsolicited message or text.
  6. Register for biometrics within the app  as an extra level of security  which helps to protect you against fraud

How to spot Impersonation scams

  • Urgent requests: you receive an urgent request for your personal or financial information, to make a payment or move money.
  • They might try to make you panic: they may pressure you to rush causing a level of panic.
  • Ask you to move money: you’re asked to transfer money to another account for ‘safe-keeping’.
  • Ask you to approve a payment: scammers might pretend you are owed a refund to get you to give away your One Time Passcodes (OTPs) or ask you to approve a payment in the mobile app that you didn't make.
  • Deepfakes: scammers can use artificial intelligence (AI) to make their scams more realistic. They can make fake videos of celebrities, phone calls from people you know or websites and emails that look official. Be extra cautious of any unexpected contact.
  • Ask you to give your personal information: Social engineering is a method fraudsters use to manipulate people so that they hand over personal information. The aim is to trick you into giving them passwords, bank information and even to install malicious software on your computer. Read more about Social Engineering