Safety guides
Practical, step-by-step articles to help you and the people you care about stay one step ahead of criminals. Each guide explains how a scam works, the warning signs, and exactly what to do if it happens to you.
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Every type of scam, explained on one page: the scams most reported in the UK, the biggest giveaway for each, and where to read more. Good to share with family.
Paying and being paid
- Paying an invoice? Check the bank details firstInvoice and mandate fraud: changed bank details, how to verify by phone, and how to send your own invoices safely.
- Buying a home: protect your deposit"Friday afternoon fraud": fake solicitor bank details sent just before completion.
- Confirmation of Payee: what the name check meansMatch, close match or no match, and when to stop.
- Passcodes, app approvals and screen sharingThe three things criminals always ask for, and why your bank never will.
- Selling online safelyFake payment screenshots, overpayments and courier "insurance" on Marketplace, Vinted and eBay.
Messages, calls and offers
- Parcel fees, parking fines and tax refundsThe fake "you owe us" and "we owe you" texts and emails that steal card details.
- Job and task scamsJobs you didn't apply for, paid "tasks", and roles that use your bank account.
- Ticket and holiday booking scamsFake tickets, fake villas and hacked hotel accounts, and how to book safely.
- AI voice cloning and deepfake scamsWhen a loved one's voice, or a celebrity's face, isn't real. Set up a family safe word today.
- How to spot a fake website or shopSeven quick checks before you enter card details or log in.
- QR code scamsFake stickers on parking meters and posters. How to scan safely.
Your accounts, devices and privacy
- Hacked email, WhatsApp or social mediaHow accounts get taken over, how to get yours back, and how to keep it.
- Protect yourself from prying eyesShoulder surfing at cash machines and checkouts, phone snatchers, bin raiders and oversharing online.
- Is someone watching your phone or your money?Signs of spyware, shared-account snooping and financial abuse, and how to get safe help.
Protecting other people
Bank Safe Online is an information website. If you've been scammed, contact your bank on 159 and report to Report Fraud or Police Scotland. See what to do right now.
Last reviewed: October 2026