Nationwide warning: Building Society's latest move branded "long-overdue reality check"

To offer customers heightened security when it comes to avoiding falling for scam callers, Nationwide has rolled out expanded its popular Scam Checker service with a new 'Call Checker' feature. Responding to the upgrades, experts have said the building society "deserves full credit" for their positive steps to protect customers and have branded the service a "long-overdue reality check".

The new feature confirms to customers if they are really speaking to Nationwide on the phone, or a fraudster, it was announced on Monday (January 12). AI and security experts welcomed the move, saying "banks are finally beating scammers at their own game", with one criticising telecoms providers for being "stuck in the analogue age".

The Call Checker service comes as research from Nationwide reveals the average Brit receives eight scam calls a month – equivalent to two every week. Millions of pounds are lost every year to impersonation scams, so Call Checker gives customers confidence that they are speaking to a genuine Nationwide colleague. It complements its existing Scam Checker service, which is used by 100k people and prevents £300k a month from being lost.

The new feature enables customers to instantly confirm whether the call they’re on is genuine through Nationwide’s banking app. Customers can open the app, go to "More”, and “Call Checker”, and instantly see whether they’re on a call with Nationwide. The screen will display either “You’re on a call with Alex” or “You’re not on a call with us.”

Nationwide’s research shows the scale of the problem: well over half (57%) of people believe suspicious calls are becoming more frequent, with the average Brit receiving eight scam calls a month – equivalent to two every week.

Fraudsters are using increasingly bold tactics when pretending to be a customer’s bank, asking victims to share personal details (50%), provide security codes (34%) in addition to transferring money (31%), and even telling people to lie to their bank or building society (15%). This gives them access to their victim's bank account and by asking them to lie to their bank - often suggesting they say they are paying a friend or family - it will help them go under the radar and face fewer checks than a high-risk payment such as an investment.

Jim Winters, Director of Economic Crime at Nationwide said: "Scammers are becoming more sophisticated, and impersonation calls are one of the most common ways they trick people into handing over money. We are programmed to trust people and when someone uses clever tactics and well-practised scripts - often putting us under pressure or making us panic - it can be hard to know who to trust.

"Our Call Checker feature gives our customers peace of mind by confirming if a call is genuine, or not. It’s a simple and effective step that could prevent someone from becoming the next crime statistic."

Rohit Parmar-Mistry, Founder at Burton-on-Trent-based Pattrn Data, an AI and security expert, said "Nationwide deserves full credit here" but pointed the finger at a telecoms industry running on legacy tech. He said: "This is a practical, human-centric solution that finally gives power back to the customer in a high-pressure moment. But we must ask: why is this necessary? It’s because the telecoms industry has effectively surrendered our phone networks to fraudsters.

"While scammers are innovating at lightspeed, using AI to clone voices and automate attacks, telecoms providers seem stuck in the analogue age. Their lack of innovation is forcing banks to build higher walls and customers to jump through more hoops just to answer the phone safely."

Colette Mason, Author & AI Consultant at London-based Clever Clogs AI, said: "Banks are finally beating scammers at their own game. Nationwide's new Call Checker is a long-overdue reality check for fraudsters who've spent years mastering the "official" phone call. By embedding identity verification directly into the banking app, Nationwide is finally handing power back to the public."

Colette added: “If you're unsure who you're talking to, hang up, check the app, and let the telecoms AI bots occupy the scammers.”

Mitali Deypurkaystha, AI Strategist & Author at Newcastle upon Tyne-based Impact Icon AI, was also impressed by Call Checker described Nationwide’s Call Checker “elegantly simple”, adding: “This should become standard, not just for banks but for any institution with an app. If organisations want a permanent place on our phones, security should be part of the value exchange.”