Remain vigilant to beat the Easter fraudsters

Thursday 29 March 2018

NatWest International is urging customers to be extra vigilant during the Easter holiday period warning that fraudsters tend to target certain dates such as bank holidays.

The bank reminds us there have been a number of smishing attacks in the Channel Islands this year with fraudsters using well-known brands in an attempt to trick people.

NatWest International is now reminding its customers that they should under no circumstances reveal their secret security information such as full pin numbers, passwords and card reader codes in response to either text messages or telephone calls claiming to be from the Bank.

Steve Wakelin, Managing Director of Personal and Business Banking for NatWest International, commented: "Please remember NatWest International will never ask its customers for their full secret security details such as a card reader code, passwords or pin numbers over the phone, so if someone is asking for this information, regardless of how genuine they sound, they are fraudsters trying to acquire confidential information."

Bank holidays are popular periods for fraudsters because many people will be on holiday and spending more as a result, with typical scams involving asking customers to call a fake fraud prevention number about a recent purchase which they claim has usually been made with well-known companies such as Apple, PayPal and Amazon.

NatWest International works closely with the police and ensures there are warnings posted whenever a smishing attack has been detected. The bank also issues advice about fraud through the press and social media. Customers can help fight fraud by forwarding suspicious messages to the Bank’s dedicated smishing number 07860 009378. However, if customers are concerned they may have given secure information to the fraudster they should contact the bank as soon as possible on a known or published number.

Customers are also advised to take the following precautions:

• Check the number you’re being asked to call. Only ever call the bank on a known or published number (such as on our website, the telephone directory or on your bank statement). Never call back on a number contained within a text message.
• NatWest International will never ask for your card reader code over the phone
• If you’ve responded to a message like this, you should contact the bank immediately using our published numbers
• Recipients of fraudulent messages can help by sending a copy to the banks dedicated Smishing number: 07860 009 378