A new email scam is trying to trick people into clicking on a link which could potentially drain their bank account and harvest their personal information. The email purports to be from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) advising them that a request to change their mobile number has been received.
It then shows a partial mobile phone number stating that this one will become active in 24 hours - unless you contact them through the link provided to cancel the move. It also states that a ‘one-time passcode will be sent to your previous mobile to ‘authenticate the request’ - but it’s not genuine and just callous crooks trying to capitalise on the cost of living crisis.
Millions of households are keeping a close eye on spending and with most people using mobile, online or telephone banking to access their cash, anyone receiving this email might believe it’s real, especially if they are with RBS.
The headline of the fake email reads “RBS:Your mobile contact details has been updated .” - the key indicators here that something isn’t right are the grammatical and punctuation errors. But most of us are guilty of opening emails after just reading the first couple of words in the subject line or seeing the sender’s name.
But this is definitely not a genuine email from RBS.
Several members of the Daily Record Money Saving Group have reported receiving this email over the last few weeks and as energy bills continue to soar - despite Ofgem’s latest price cap bringing it down from the current £4,279 per year to £3,280 for the average household from April 1 - it could leave many people open to fraud.
How to protect yourself from online scams
Anti money laundering experts from Kyros have shared their top tips on how to protect your money and personal information from scammers.
Top tips:
- Never send money to individuals you don’t know and never let strangers persuade you to send money to anyone.
- If an email claims to be from your bank or credit provider, contact them directly to confirm the contents if it sounds suspicious.
- Never lend your phone to strangers.
- Never share your personal information with anyone who makes contact with you, even if they seem genuine. Information such as username, password, social security number, and any other debit or credit card information should be kept private at all times.
- Never use Google to search for your bank’s customer service number, because that can lead you to a scammer’s website. Only use the number provided on your card or bank statement.
- Make sure to confirm the identity of the person you’re sending money to, in case you don’t know them, and be extremely cautious when entering the recipient’s information.
- Enable a multi-factor authentication to verify your identity.
- Only access financial information via a secure WiFi. Never make transactions while using public WiFi because your account can get hacked more easily.
- Set up notifications for any transactions on your account.
If you receive a scam email or think you may have been tricked by this email, contact your bank immediately and Police Scotland via 101.
You can also report scams and phishing emails through the GOV.UK portal here.
To keep up to date with the latest cost of living news, join our Money Saving Scotland Facebook page here, or subscribe to our newsletter which goes out daily, Monday to Friday - sign up here.
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