Bank safely

When you use your bank account you need to stay safe and secure. Learn how to spot a scam, what to do if you’re contacted unexpectedly, and advice on how to stay safe.

Scam messages

Find out how to protect yourself by spotting a scam email or text message from a real one.

What to look out for:

  • They want financial or personal information - Bank of Scotland or a genuine company would never message you for banking or personal details.
  • Unexpected sender - If you don’t know who sent a message then it could be a scam.
  • You need to act now - A genuine message will be written in a reasonable and calm way. Scams may use warning messages, threats of fraud or problems with your account.
  • How a message greets you - A Bank of Scotland email will always greet you by title and surname, as in Dear Mrs Smith. We always include part of your main account number, or part of your postcode if you don't yet have an account number.
  • Spelling mistakes - Scam emails often look odd, with a messy layout and spelling mistakes.
  • The email address - All our email addresses end with bankofscotland.co.uk. There should never be another word in between bankofscotland and .co.uk. This is a genuine email: name@mail.bankofscotland.co.uk. This is a scam email: name@bankofscotland.mail.co.uk.
  • You’re asked to move your money - We will never ask you to make a test payment online or to move money to a new sort code and account number. We will never ask you to move money to a secure, safe or holding account.

What you can do:

If you get a message that seems odd, you should follow these steps:

  • Do not reply - Even if you think you know the sender, don’t reply to an email or text message if it seems odd.
  • Do not open any links or attachments - These can put a virus on your phone or computer.
  • Call the company - If you’re not sure, phone the company on a number you trust or visit their website by typing their web address directly into the address bar at the top of your screen.
  • Call us to make sure it’s genuine - Use the number on the back of your bank card and we can help to check the email or text message.
  • Forward the message to our fraud team - Please forward any scam emails to us at security@bankofscotland.co.uk.
  • Forward the message to your network provider - You can use 7726 to report the scam text for free to your network provider.

Remember, if you’re not sure about an email or text message – do not reply and delete it.

Next topic: Protect your passwords

Previous topic: Scam calls

Bank of Scotland will never ask you to:

  • Share your account details like user ID, password and memorable information.
  • Tell us your Personal Security Number (PSN) for Telephone Banking.
  • Tell us your PIN code, expiry date, CVV number which is the last 3 digits of the security code on the back of your card.
  • Move money to a so-called secure, safe or holding account.
  • Move your money or ask you to transfer funds to a new sort code and account number.

Other topics

Get more information

Think you've been a victim of fraud?

You should contact us right away if you think you’ve been a victim of fraud. We can then guide you on what to do next.

Contact us nowif you think you're a victim of fraud.

  • We guarantee to refund your money (including charges and interest that you’ve paid or not received as a result) in the unlikely event that you experience fraud with our Internet Banking service. We will take steps to protect you 24/7, using technology and safeguards that meet or exceed industry standards, but you must also use our Internet Banking services carefully.

    Being careful when you use our services includes, for example, that you:

    • Do all that you reasonably can to keep your Security Details (such as online and mobile username, password, and memorable information) secure, and you log out after each Internet Banking session.
    • Don’t let anyone else have access to your account or Security Details, or transact using them, even if they share a joint account with you through our Internet Banking services.
    • Tell us, as soon as you can if you think your Security Details have been lost, stolen, damaged or are being misused; or think someone may be accessing your accounts without your authority, or has discovered your Security Details.
    • Carry out regular virus checks on your devices.

    If you've been grossly negligent, we will not refund any money taken from your account before you have told us your Security Details have been lost, stolen or could be misused.

    We won't give you a refund if you have acted fraudulently.

    For further guidance on using our online banking services, see our Internet Banking terms and conditions.