Halifax and Metro Bank customers are the most at risk of phishing scams, according to new study

‘Phishing’ occurs when cybercriminals use scam emails, text messages, or phone calls to trick their victims into handing over sensitive information.

In these scams, cybercriminals pretend to be part of a trustworthy authority, such as a UK bank, but they ultimately coerce victims into revealing personal information, such as bank details and home addresses.

It’s becoming increasingly common for phishing scams to impersonate banks, particularly by creating false telephone numbers.

These scams aim to trick victims into unknowingly calling one of these fake numbers, believing they are contacting their real bank. Fraudsters will then seek to obtain personal information over the phone while posing as a member of staff.

This is why so many numbers appear when searching for a bank’s telephone number, though only a few are legitimate.

In order to determine which UK banks are most vulnerable to these types of phishing scams, experts at the financial site CoinLedger searched for the contact number of each leading UK bank to reveal how many different telephone numbers appeared on Google’s first two pages of search results.

The research then entered these numbers into Who Called to determine which telephone numbers had the highest percentages of fraud complaints. The banks with the highest percentages of ‘negative experiences’ then determined the final ranking.

The study reveals that Halifax and Metro Bank are the most susceptible to phishing scams. The study found that when searching for Halifax’s contact number, 47 different results appear on Google’s first two pages. According to data from Who Called, 66.70% of the numbers listed on the site have received negative feedback, with many reporting cases of attempted fraud.

Meanwhile, 84 different numbers appear when searching for Metro Bank’s contact number. 66.70% of the numbers available on the site have received negative feedback on Who Called, with many users claiming that scammers were impersonating Metro Bank and asking customers to transfer money.

Lloyds and Nationwide are the second most likely banks to encounter phishing scams. The research found that 31 different numbers appear when searching for Lloyds’ contact details, receiving a negative feedback rating of 60% based on the numbers listed on Who Called. Multiple users flagged some of these numbers as ‘dangerous,’ claiming that scammers were pretending to be from Lloyds bank and asking for customers’ bank details, date of birth, and home address.

A staggering 103 different numbers appear when searching for Nationwide’s contact details, with 60% of these receiving negative feedback on Who Called. Users on the site reported that certain numbers were impersonating Nationwide and asking for customers’ bank account numbers and sort codes.

NatWest and Santander are the third most susceptible to phishing scams. A total of 112 different numbers appear when searching for NatWest’s contact details, which is the highest figure in the study. 50% of these numbers received negative feedback on Who Called, with people complaining of receiving repeated calls from certain numbers which then asked customers to move their funds into an unknown account.

33 different numbers appear when searching for Santander’s contact details, with 50% of these receiving negative feedback. Some users reported being contacted by an unknown number claiming to be from Santander’s fraud support team. When reaching out directly to Santander, the bank stated that they had not tried to contact the individual and flagged this as a phishing scam.

HSBC is the fourth most likely bank to be targeted by phishing scams. 107 different contact numbers appear when searching for HSBC’s contact details, with 41.70% of these receiving negative feedback on Who Called. Some numbers were reported to be ‘very sophisticated scams,’ in which fraudulent texts were sent to HSBC customers claiming that there had been suspicious activity on their card. When clarifying this with HSBC’s official number, the bank claimed that some of these numbers were not associated with the bank.

The study found that Barclays is the fifth most susceptible bank to phishing scams. When searching for Barclays’ contact details on Google, 46 different numbers appear on the first two search result pages. 37.50% of these numbers received negative feedback on Who Called, with some users claiming that certain numbers were impersonating Barclays’ fraud prevention team.

Top tips on avoiding phishing scams:

As phishing scams are becoming increasingly prevalent, finance experts at CoinLedger have offered some top tips on how to avoid scams when contacting your bank.

Verify the number on your bank card: Some bank cards tend to have a copy of a contact telephone number on the bank. This should be your first port of call when getting in touch with your bank, as this is a legitimate number that has been provided by your bank. You can also find your bank’s telephone number on your bank statement.

Ensure that you’re carefully checking website addresses: If you’re trying to locate your bank’s telephone number on Google, then ensure that the number is actually sourced from your bank’s official website. Certain scammers will impersonate websites in order to promote fraudulent numbers. To avoid falling for fake websites, ensure that the website’s URL doesn’t contain any additional letters, hyphens, or spelling mistakes. For example, Lloyds’ official website is ‘Lloydsbank.com’ but certain scammers have attempted to re-create the website by using the URL ‘Lloydsbank.co.uk’ which is why it’s so important to check that the URLs match up.

Look out for adverts or promoted sites: When searching for your bank’s telephone number on Google, certain fake numbers can be displayed higher up under promoted or advertised sites. Just because a telephone number appears higher up than others, doesn’t mean that it’s legitimate. Always check that the number is being provided by your bank’s official website instead of relying on the first number to appear on Google.

Always double-check if you’re unsure: If you’ve been contacted by a number claiming to be your bank, don’t rush into any decisions, and take your time to ensure that it’s legitimate. If you’re feeling uncertain, then call the official number on your bank card to verify whether your bank has been trying to contact you. If an unknown number does call you claiming to be a member of staff, it's always a good idea to tell them that you’re going to verify this with your bank. Certain scammers will then try to prevent you from doing this, which then verifies this as a scam call.

David Kemmerer, the co-founder and CEO of CoinLedger, commented:

“Phishing scams are becoming a point of grave concern, largely because of the convincing nature behind some of these scams. While some people may not question using Google to locate their bank’s telephone number, this study demonstrates the necessity of verifying a bank’s contact details.

“The rise in the number of phishing scams means that Google shouldn’t be your first port of call when locating a bank’s telephone number. Instead, use the contact details located on the back of your card or on official documents, such as your banking statements.

“It’s also important to closely check the URL of a website before trusting their telephone number. Fraudsters will go to extreme efforts to re-create the appearance of a bank’s official website, which is why it’s always essential to look out for URLs containing additional letters or hyphens as this is often a red flag.

“If a bank is asking you to transfer money into an unknown account, this is an immediate red flag. Scammers will also place pressure on you to make rushed decisions, which legitimate banks would never do. This is why it’s so important to take your time to notice whether something doesn’t seem quite right. Genuine callers will not mind if you need time to call them back, whereas scammers will appear pushy and demanding.

“If you do suspect that a certain number is part of a phishing scam, then report this immediately to prevent others from falling victim to the same scam.”

This information was provided by the financial site, CoinLedger.io