Bank fraud is running rife in Mill Hill, read this to protect yourself from bogus callers

 I have spoken to three people in Mill Hill who have been victims of bank fraud recently. In all cases, they have fallen victim to very plausable callers. Often, these have personal information from Bank staff, who have been paid by criminal gangs, which enables them to sound entirely trustworthy. The sad thing is that no one ever need fall victim to such a fraud. Any caller claiming to be from the bank, will not pressurise you into doing anything. If a bank identifies fraud and needs to contact you, they will have already put adequate precations in place and will only seek clarification. However most people do not know the correct procedure to ascertain whether a caller its genuine. It could not be easier. If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from the bank and asking you to do something, do not be fooled if they know your name, email or details. It is very easy to verify. Just follow this procedure.

1. Inform the caller, very politely that it is kind of them to ring, but you always verify callers from your bank, before you proceed.

2. Inform them that you are now going to hang up the call and call the National bank security hotline on 159. If you have not heard of this service, these are the details

159 is a secure, memorable UK hotline designed to combat bank fraud by connecting callers directly to their bank’s fraud prevention department. If you receive an unexpected or suspicious call about a financial matter, hanging up and calling 159 ensures you are talking to your real bank, not a scammer. 

Key Features and Details:

• Purpose: To prevent "impersonation scams" where criminals pose as bank staff, police, or official entities to steal money.
• How it Works: Upon dialing 159, an automated system asks which bank you want to connect to, then directly links you, preventing potential fraud.
• Availability: Supported by most major UK retail banks—including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, and Monzo via Stop Scams UK—covering over 99% of UK bank accounts.
• Security: It cannot be spoofed or impersonated by fraudsters, offering a safe alternative to calling a number provided by a potential scammer.
• Cost: Calls cost the same as a standard national rate call (often free if you have inclusive minutes).

There is more information at this website - stopscamsuk.org.uk/campaign/get-help-now/ 

• Any caller who attempts to discourage you from calling this number, is clearly not a genuine caller. Please share this information with all of your friends and family, especially elderly and vulnerable, who scammers particularly target. 

No one ever should be scammed. It is easy to use the service and scammers will generally abandon the call and move on to their next victim immediately. Oh, and it is a national service so you don't have to be a resident of Mill Hill to use it! Spread the word and keep us all safe.

The Banks and phon companies participating in the 159 scheme are:

• Bank of Ireland UK
• Bank of Scotland
• Barclays
• Cater Allen Private Bank
• Chase
• Co-operative Bank
• Danske Bank
• First Direct
• Halifax
• HSBC
• Lloyds
• Metro Bank
• Modulr
• Monzo
• Nationwide Building Society
• NatWest
• Revolut
• Royal Bank of Scotland
• Santander
• Spring
• Starling Bank
• Tide
• True Potential
• TSB
• Ulster Bank
• Virgin Money
• Zempler Bank

The telephone companies involved in 159 are:

• BT (including EE and Plusnet)
• Gamma
• O2 (including giffgaff)
• Sky
• Three
• Vodafone
• TalkTalk
• Virgin Media