Online banking fraud

Online banking fraud is when criminals access your money digitally by getting hold of your personal information. They can try to do this through your mobile and when you bank online.

Criminals may contact you by phone or send you a text asking to call a number. They’ll pretend to be from a trusted organisation and may have some of your personal details.

Someone calls or texts to say there’s a problem and ask you to do something, such as

• Allow them remote access to your computer, so they can control it.
• Log in using your card reader to check your account, change details or move money.
• Move your money into a new or ‘safe’ account.
• Log in to the Internet Bank, to pay for antivirus help or maintenance software on your computer.

The calls and texts can sound and look very convincing. But genuine companies never ask you to move money or use your card reader.

If you’re suspicious of the caller, end the call. If it’s a text, don’t reply or call the number. To report this, contact the organisation directly. Find their number from a trusted source. Don’t use a search engine.

If you need to call Nationwide use the number on the back of your card.

Scammers can insert their messages into genuine text conversations, making them appear legitimate.

Criminals might try to get you to share your personal or banking details. They’ll do this by pretending to be someone you know or trust.

A criminal writes to you posing as someone you know or as a reputable organisation. They can seem very convincing. The logos, email addresses or account names can be almost identical to those of real organisations. They’ll claim there’s an urgent problem and might ask you to:

• update your details using a link without having you complete any extra security or identity checks
• login to check a recent payment
• unblock your account by logging into it yourself
• transfer money to avoid a penalty or financial loss.

1. We will never ask you to update your account details.
2. Not addressed to you personally and does not include your postcode.
3. Use of language or punctuation may be poor.
4. Shown link may look legitimate but could actually take you somewhere else.
5. The email signature may include a company name and address. Check these are correct.

• Don’t open emails or respond to messages on social media if you don’t recognise the sender.
• Never click on or use links to log in or unlock your account.
• If anyone ever asks for your full password or PIN, report it immediately.
• If you receive an email claiming to be from us and you’re not sure it is, please do not open it. Instead, visit your local branch or call the phone number for your Nationwide account or product to check.

Taking its name from ‘malicious software’, malware is a hostile form of software. Once downloaded, it can do things like:

• Hijack your online banking and send money from your account.
• Prevent apps from working unless you make a ‘ransom’ payment.
• Spy on what you’re doing online, and get the information you enter into websites or online forms.

Criminals can trick you into installing it on to your computer or mobile device by:

• Encouraging you to open links or attachments in emails, texts or social media messages. They’ll try to install malware as soon as you open them.
• Getting you to download a fake app that looks like a genuine banking or service app, to capture your log in details.

Malware can be hard to remove from your device.

1. Fraudsters can easily set up a fake email address, pretending to be from a real company.
2. There might be attachments included, to make the email seem more legitimate. Do not open them.
3. The email may not be addressed to you personally.
4. The use of language, punctuation and grammar can often be poor.
5. Fraudsters will try to encourage you to respond or act, by giving you a deadline.
6. Signature details can appear to be correct, but this doesn’t mean the email is legitimate.

• Always use a firewall and reputable antivirus software. Run regular updates.
• Set antivirus software to run a weekly malware scan.
• Check that a site is secure before you log in. Look for a padlock or key symbol and https in the address bar.
• Get familiar with the genuine Nationwide Internet Bank and Banking app. It’ll make it easier to spot anything suspicious.

Protecting your devices makes it much harder for criminals to access your information.