Halifax has issued a warning after scammers pretending to be from the bank contacted a person about a bogus payment.
Twitter user @JaysonRigby contacted the bank about a text message he had received purportedly from the bank warning him about a large payment that had been made from his debit card to furniture chain IKEA.
But the bank quickly replied to raise the alarm that the message was not genuine and urged them to block the number and delete the message.
The scam message read: “Halifax: We have noticed your debit card was used for £995.00 GBP at IKEA. If this was you reply YES If NO, Call us on 01218276080 immediately.”
Fake messages like this often include links to websites or phone lines under the control of the scammers, who will then ask the victim for personal or banking information.
Halifax said in response: “This isn’t a genuine message from us and this will be a scam. You can block this number and delete this message.”
Another Twitter user, @Miss_Pumpkin666, recently contacted Barclays after she received a scam message purportedly from the bank.
The message read: “BARCLAYS: Your One Time Passcode is 993726 for an amount of 247.71GBP to a G Jones. REF: TA9BX, If this was NOT you, please call us on: 0202 3350 1664.”
Barclays said in response: “Thanks for letting us know and make sure not to click any links sent.”
The bank said previously: “Scammers are sending texts that appear to be from ‘Barclays’. If you receive a text with a one-time passcode you didn’t ask for, or about a payment you don’t recognise, it’s probably a scam
“Don’t call any numbers, select any links or open attachments in messages you don’t recognise or aren’t expecting.”
Financial journalist Martin Lewis recently warned about a highly convincing scam where fraudsters used AI to imitate his likeness and voice, to back a fake investment scheme.
He said the video was “frightening” with how realistic it was and called for Government regulation to stop the scam from being published on social media platforms.
Mr Lewis is founder of MoneySavingExpert. The group spoke out to confirm he never does adverts or promotes investment schemes.
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