Bank transfer scam: Which? issues warning

A victim of ‘authorised push-payment’ fraud reveals how she lost £20,000 of her life savings to the bank transfer scam. Which?'s Money Helpline has seen a large spike in calls about a type of bank transfer or 'authorised push-payment' (APP) fraud, where criminals pose as a legitimate company to trick you into transferring money from your bank account. Protect yourself from bank transfer scams by following these five steps: 1) Hang up Be wary of unsolicited calls or emails. Call your bank directly using the number on the back of your debit card, and type its web address manually into the address bar. 2) Think twice Pay attention to your bank's warnings. They will never ask you to transfer funds to a ‘safe account’ or disclose your full security details, card-reader codes or activation codes by phone or email. 3) Research Research companies you’re thinking of buying from for the first time. Read reviews and be wary of ‘too-good-to-be-true’ offers. Free services such as scamfoo.com flag potentially untrustworthy sites. 4) Update your devices Keep operating systems, antivirus software and web browsers up to date so your device is protected against the latest threats. 5) Do a test transfer If you’re making a large payment after receiving an invoice, first send a small amount and make sure the right person receives it. To read more about bank transfer scams and for expert advice on what to do if you're contacted by scammers claiming to be your bank, visit: http://bit.ly/2RKPiBd. Which?: http://www.which.co.uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/whichuk Facebook: http://bit.ly/1fAOmna