What are the red flags of this scam?

A caller claims to be from your bank's fraud team and says your money is being stolen right now • They tell you not to hang up and not to call the bank back — real banks always let you hang up and call them on the number on the back of your card • Caller ID displays your bank's real name and number — this is spoofing, not proof of authenticity • They ask you to transfer money to a 'safe account' (also called a 'holding account', 'safeguard account', or 'suspense account') — no such thing exists at any UK bank • They coach you to lie to your bank if the bank calls to challenge the transfer, or tell you to say the payment is for 'family' or 'a house deposit' • They may use a fake police officer or FCA officer on the line to reinforce the urgency

What should I do if this happened to me?

Hang up immediately. Real banks never ask you to move money to a safe account • Wait 5 minutes (scammers can keep the phone line open) then call your bank on the number printed on the back of your card, using a different phone if possible • If you have already made a transfer, call your bank now — under the CRM Code most UK banks now automatically reimburse APP fraud victims for eligible losses • If money was sent to a UK account and you report within hours, the receiving bank can often freeze the funds before withdrawal — speed matters • Do not trust caller ID — scammers can display any number, including your bank's real number • Report to Report Fraud at https://www.reportfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.

CRITICAL banking Last reported: 27 Oct 2026 Share

Your bank calls saying "move your money to a safe account" — it is authorised push payment fraud

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. A caller pretending to be from your bank's fraud team says your account has been hacked and you must move all your money to a "safe account" they'll set up. Once you send the money, it is gone. Real UK banks never ask customers to transfer money to a new account for safety — this is the most reported form of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud.

A caller pretending to be from your bank's fraud team says your account has been hacked and you must move all your money to a "safe account" they'll set up. Once you send the money, it is gone. Real UK banks never ask customers to transfer money to a new account for safety — this is the most reported form of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud.

Also known as: safe account scam, authorised push payment fraud, APP fraud UK, fraud team impersonation call, bank transfer scam

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.

What to do right now

1 Hang up immediately. Real banks never ask you to move money to a safe account
2 Wait 5 minutes (scammers can keep the phone line open) then call your bank on the number printed on the back of your card, using a different phone if possible
3 If you have already made a transfer, call your bank now — under the CRM Code most UK banks now automatically reimburse APP fraud victims for eligible losses
4 If money was sent to a UK account and you report within hours, the receiving bank can often freeze the funds before withdrawal — speed matters
5 Do not trust caller ID — scammers can display any number, including your bank's real number
6 Report to Report Fraud at https://www.reportfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.

Red flags

⚠ A caller claims to be from your bank's fraud team and says your money is being stolen right now
⚠ They tell you not to hang up and not to call the bank back — real banks always let you hang up and call them on the number on the back of your card
⚠ Caller ID displays your bank's real name and number — this is spoofing, not proof of authenticity
⚠ They ask you to transfer money to a 'safe account' (also called a 'holding account', 'safeguard account', or 'suspense account') — no such thing exists at any UK bank
⚠ They coach you to lie to your bank if the bank calls to challenge the transfer, or tell you to say the payment is for 'family' or 'a house deposit'
⚠ They may use a fake police officer or FCA officer on the line to reinforce the urgency

Known variants

'Courier fraud' variant: caller says your card has been cloned and a courier will collect it as evidence. A person in a hi-vis vest arrives at your door, takes your card AND you say your PIN aloud during the earlier call. Predominantly targets elderly Londoners.

Last seen: 6/1/2026
Bank + police duet: after the fake fraud team call, a second caller pretends to be from the local police or NCA to reinforce urgency. Both use the same script and are the same criminal group.

Last seen: 5/15/2026
Fake bank alert text with spoofed callback number: a text claiming to be from Nationwide, Barclays, or another bank says a standing order or payment was set up and provides a 'fraud helpline' number to call — that number connects to fraudsters who then run the safe-account or credential-harvesting script.

Last seen: 9/24/2026
Outage exploitation: during a major banking outage (e.g. Google Cloud, October 2026 affecting Revolut, Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, HSBC), fraudsters text or call claiming the account is frozen and must be unlocked by re-verifying card details or transferring funds.

Last seen: 10/20/2026

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Known variants

Sources