Learn about fraud

Learn more about common and new scams, find helpful tips and guides for staying safe, and discover independent organisations available to help you in the fight against fraud.

Report a scam or potential scam

Call 159 — this service quickly redirects you to your bank, so you can report scams and suspected fraudulent contact.

Find out when you should call 159

Scammers are posing as us. Remember:

We'll never ask you to make a payment, share your PIN, give us sensitive information or ask you to click on a link to a log onto a page requesting your security or financial information.

  • Never share your bank account or security information in full

  • Never share the PIN for your card with anyone

  • Never tell anyone your Online Banking One Time Passcode that we send to you in a text or an email. Not even us.

  • If we suspect fraud on your account we may send you a message to check it was really you making the payment. We will never call you and ask you for any details from this message or tell you how to reply to it.

If you've received an email claiming to be from us that doesn't look right, please let us know by forwarding it to ihaveseenascam@co-operativebank.co.uk

Helping you learn about fraud

We want to arm you with the tools you need to be a Fraud Fighter. So we’ve put together a Fraud Prevention Guide to keep you scam savvy. Read it, share it and let’s fight fraud together.

  • Resources on fraud you may find useful

Take Five To Stop Fraud

We support Take Five To Stop Fraud; a national campaign led by UK Finance and the UK Government to tackle fraud and protect the public.

Action Fraud

Action Fraud is the UK's national fraud and internet crime reporting centre.

Get Safe Online

Get Safe Online offers practical advice for staying safe online, as well as keeping your data and devices safe.

Scam Smart

Scam Smart offers information from The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help you avoid investment and pension scams.

Friends Against Scams

A National Trading Standards initiative, Friends Against Scams offers information to try and help prevent people from becoming victims of scams.

  • Articles on latest and most common scams

    Scammers take advantage of trends and technology to find new ways to get at your money. Our articles explain what to look out for to help you spot a scam.

Impersonation scams

Impersonation scams are when a fraudster attempts to trick you into sharing information or making a payment over the phone. Fraudsters sometimes 'spoof' a legitimate phone number, so it appears they're calling from your bank.

Online shopping scams

Shopping online can be a great way to buy hard-to-find products at better prices. But scammers try to tempt you with fake products that look genuine on popular apps like Facebook Marketplace, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat.

Software scams

Software scams are when a fraudster tries to convince you to download software (or apps), which allows them to take control of your device. They’re then free to steal your money and information without you knowing.

Could you spot an online shopping scam?

Watch our short video to learn more about online shopping scams.

Staying secure online

It’s now extremely common for scams to come in the form of fake text messages, phishing emails, and account takeovers through malicious software.

To help you stay safe online and digitally, we’ve collaborated with BPP; a global leader in education services, to bring you interactive activities on cyber security.

Here are some handy tips that can help you stay safe online:

  • Protect your identity - we'll never ask you to disclose personal or sensitive information over the phone, by text or by email, so remember never to share your verification codes and one-time passcodes with anyone, not even us.

  • Protect your cards - some simple steps you can take to do this include never sharing or writing down your PIN, keeping your cards in a safe place when not using them, and shielding your PIN when making a payment.

  • Install and use Antivirus and firewall software - they’re important ways to help prevent viruses from accessing your devices and your personal, sensitive and financial information.

  • Keep all your device’s software up to date - this is important because many viruses are designed to exploit flaws in outdated software.

Learn more about staying safe online

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