What you can do to stop fraud

If you think you've been a victim of fraud, don’t panic. Get in touch straight away and our team will help you.

We'll take immediate actions to secure your account. And we'll investigate any transactions you're concerned about.

Remember if it doesn't feel right just give us a call. We're always pleased to hear from you.

Keeping safe on the internet

For helpful information about antivirus, malware and viruses, click on ‘Keeping safe’ below.

Report suspected fraud

Find the fastest way to report your fraud on our 
‘How to report fraud’ page

 

How to cancel your card 

You can cancel your card in the TSB Mobile Banking app or use one of the other options here. 

Unsure about a transaction?

To help you identify a transaction you don’t recognise follow this guide

Be aware of fraudsters methods 

Fraudsters are good actors. They’ll play out a situation which will get you worried so you take part. They might offer something as straightforward as improving your broadband speed or applying security fixes to your wifi. They might tell you that your money is in danger of being stolen. The stories they come up with are as big as their imaginations.

You’ll never get asked to download remote access software on to your computer by reputable companies. One of the main pieces of software used is called ‘TeamViewer’, but others may also be used. If you do, never log in to your online banking. Even if you are asked to.

Neither we, nor the Police, will ever ask you to hand over your card, PIN or cash. Especially not to a third party. We’ll also never ask you to transfer money into another ‘safe’ account.

Remember, you’re responsible for checking your statements, text messages or other account information we give you. So if you spot something you don’t recognise or think you've been a victim of fraud, don’t panic. Get in touch with us straight away and our team will help you.

Things we'll never do

Fraudsters pretend to be banks. Below are things we’ll never do:

  1. We’ll never ask you to share your Internet Banking log on details. The only time you’ll ever use these is when logging in to our Mobile App, or Internet Banking by going to tsb.co.uk and choosing ‘Log in’. For Business Internet Banking you’ll go to tsb.co.uk/business and choose ‘Log in’.

  2. We’ll never call you and ask you to give us information from a text we’ve sent you. This could be texts containing security codes or One-Time Passwords – also known as ‘OTP’.

  3. We’ll never ask you to tell us your PIN. This is only for you to know and use at trusted cash machines and when making trusted card purchases.

  4. We’ll never email you with a link directly to a web page that asks you for any of your Internet Banking log in details or any other personal information.

  5. We’ll never ask you to email or text us your PIN, card details or passwords.

  6. We’ll never ask you to authorise a payment or send money into a new account that you haven't already set up.

  7. We’ll never ask you to bank through a website that isn’t TSB. Our official website is https://www.tsb.co.uk for personal customers and https://www.tsb.co.uk/business for business customers. Always make sure that you access Internet Banking from one of these links.

  8. We’ll never ask you to bank using an app that isn’t TSB. We have two apps – our Mobile Banking app and our Business Banking Authentication app. No others.

  9. We’ll never ask you to carry out a ‘test’ transaction.

  10. We’ll never ask you to handover cash or cards to anybody.

  11. We’ll never talk to you on social media through accounts that aren’t our official ones (Twitter - @TSB, Facebook - @Tsbbankuk and Instagram - @Tsbbank).

  12. We’ll never advise you to purchase land, diamonds or any other commodities.

Be careful with email, SMS & letters

Phishing is where a fraudster sends you an email or letter pretending to be us, or another organisation you trust.

Smishing is where fraudsters pretend to be us or other trusted organisations by SMS (text message). Fraudsters are very clever and can intercept text messages, so their texts appear in the same conversation as a previous genuine TSB text. Follow the tips below for things to look out for.

How to spot phishing and smishing

Fraudsters' websites can be identical copies to real ones. So always check the web address. Our main website is https://www.tsb.co.uk so make sure you always see this address in your browser and navigate to where you need to get to from there. ‘https’ at the start of a webpage address means it’s a secure site you’re visiting.

One way to be sure you’re always logging into TSB Internet Banking is to go to tsb.co.uk and click 'Log In'.

We’ll never send you a ‘secure link’ to Internet Banking. If you receive an email or SMS asking you to log in, don’t click on the link and delete the email or SMS immediately.

Our spelling and grammar is pretty good. If there are spelling mistakes or grammatical errors it's probably not a genuine message.

We'll always address you by your name and include the last four digits of one of the accounts that you hold with us, or the last three digits of your postcode.

If the email or text message worries you, it's also unlikely to be us. We don't send out anything marked 'urgent', 'important' or suggesting we need to 'verify your account'.

As always, if you're in doubt, contact us via the numbers you can find on tsb.co.uk – and not via numbers in the message that worried you.

Keeping your phone and computer safe

Keeping your phone and computer up to date is easy and essential.

Keeping your phone safe

Most phone updates contain security enhancements. When you get a notification asking you to update our app, don't put it off. If you do, you're putting yourself at risk. We know it can be inconvenient to do but these often contain security enhancements.

Fraudsters can be clever with your phone

Be aware that fraudsters can call you, and make it look like the call is coming from TSB. But it might not be. So, remember that we’ll never call you out of the blue asking you to give us a One-Time Password or ‘security code’ to ‘verify your identity’. And we’ll never call and ask for your PIN or password. If you’re in any doubt that a call is genuine, hang up. And then call us using the number on tsb.co.uk – use a different phone just to be safe.

Fraudsters can also make a copy of your SIM card without you even knowing. If your phone suddenly doesn’t connect to the network, give your phone company a call and ask them to check that everything is ok. If they tell you that your SIM card has been cloned, call us immediately and we’ll make sure your accounts are safe.

Keeping your computer safe

Your web browser should always be kept up to date.

Antivirus software is essential. Good antivirus software keeps out Malware and Viruses. If something malicious does get into your system, antivirus software will find and remove it.

SOPHOS, a leading international antivirus company, provides an excellent free home product that has no annoying popups and will never try to sell you anything.

Protect your PIN

We all enjoy our personal space. So, don't enter your PIN or banking details if someone's invading yours.

Never tell anyone your PIN, or your card details, not even TSB staff. Keep them secret.

Many businesses can take payments over the phone or online where your PIN isn't needed. So never give it to anybody when paying for something over the phone.

Your PIN and security details are confidential. Only you should know them. So, keep it that way.

Compromised cashpoints

Fraudsters can steal money by tampering with or fitting a device to an ATM, also known as a cashpoint. They're designed to swallow your card, hold on to your cash or read your card details as you're using the ATM. It's called 'ATM skimming'. There could even be a hidden camera snapping your PIN.

What can I do?

When possible, use the machine inside a branch. And remember your card can be used to withdraw money from ATMs in almost all high street banks.

Look carefully at the ATM. Does anything seem out of the ordinary? Is the keypad sticking out at all? Does it look like the card slot casing looks bigger than normal? Is there anything that looks at all suspicious? If so, stop. Don't use that ATM. Find another, preferably inside a bank.

Also, if your card is swallowed by an ATM, contact us straight away.

One-Time Passwords (OTP)

Sometimes when you’re using Internet Banking or our Mobile App we'll need to call you or send you a text to check that it is really you. Unfortunately this is also a very common way fraudsters try and access your accounts. So, remember these tips:

We’ll only ever send a One-Time Password to a phone number you already have registered with us.

The One-Time Password we send you should only be used for the transaction you’re trying to carry out and should never be shared with anyone.

We’ll never call you out of the blue asking you to give us a One-Time Password or ‘security code’ to ‘verify your identity’.

Texts from us will always be from ‘TSB’. Fraudsters do however have clever ways of making it appear that their texts are from ‘TSB’ as well. Fraudsters messages often contain threats of account suspension or immediate risk of fraud. If you’re not sure, don’t do anything with the text and give us a ring on the numbers on tsb.co.uk. Don’t call any number included in the message.

If you receive an OTP or security code you weren’t expecting then get in touch with us straight away. The sooner you act, the sooner we can check over your accounts to make sure they’re safe.

And finally, remember. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not.

Our automated calls

If you're making a new payment or doing something big to your account we'll call you to check that it is really you. This will be an automated call. So please don't hang up. Listen to the entire message to make sure you understand what's happening to your account.

We recommend that you change your Internet Banking password regularly. To do this, log in and go to the Change Details section.