7 January 2022
3 min read
Software scams typically involve criminals posing as representatives from authoritative and trusted organisations. They will use a range of methods to contact you, typically they will obtain your contact details via an initial fake text or email and then follow it up with a phone call.
Once they’ve made contact with you, they’ll usually try to persuade you to act. Often with claims that there has been suspicious activity, a security compromise or that you are due a refund of some sort.
When criminals pose as these representatives they may also try to coerce you in to downloading an app or software on to your mobile or computer to allow them to access your device. During the conversation, they’ll try to trick you and ask you to log in to your online bank account and emails.
Once the software has been downloaded, it allows the criminals to take over your device. They can present screens to stop you from seeing what they are doing on your device, so if you have logged in to your online bank account or emails, they will have full access and control. They can then attempt to make payments from your accounts without you realising and stop any messages or contact attempts from us to warn you of suspicious activity.
We’ve seen that criminals often pose as representatives from well-known organisations and companies. To get a better idea of what that may look like, we’ve included a few examples of the tactics they may use below;
If somebody calls you, no matter who they say they are, it’s important that you never agree to download an app or software on to your laptop, computer or mobile device. Especially if they then ask you to log in to your online banking accounts.
Remember - Never tell ANYONE your online banking verification codes or password, or your memorable number, not even us!
Important - If we suspect a fraudulent payment may be about to leave your account, we may text you to ask you to confirm if it is genuine or not first before the payment can be made. In a computer software scam, the criminal may have tried to move money from your account and they may tell you to ignore our security message and to just reply ‘yes’. If you are told to do this by someone over the phone, it’s a scam! You will be authorising the criminal to steal your money.
The scammers are criminals and those affected are victims. It’s important that we do what we can to help protect ourselves and those around us. Help us fight fraudsters and scams by keeping the below fresh in your mind.
Find out more about common fraud threats and how to avoid them.
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