Criminals posing as banks’ anti-fraud teams to drain high-value accounts

Victims are first contacted by phone by someone pretending to be from their bank (Alamy/PA) -

UK businesses, charities and other high-value bank account holders are being warned about a scam which often starts with a phone call and ends with criminals taking control of victims’ computers and online banking to drain accounts.

Fraudsters are using software to steal tens of thousands of pounds, with the amounts stolen from some individual accounts exceeding £1 million, according to intelligence from the Cyber Defence Alliance (CDA).