Security
Almost every case we investigate is one of six patterns. They are described here exactly as customers meet them, including the detail that gives each one away.
One rule covers most of it
Nobody legitimate will ever ask you to move money to keep it safe, and nobody at Reliance Bank will ever ask for a passcode or a one-time code. If either happens, the call is not from us — whatever the caller ID says.The six
What each one looks like from the inside
The safe account
- How it starts
- A call, apparently from your bank or the police, saying your account has been compromised and there is an investigation under way.
- What they actually want
- You to move your balance to a "safe account" they provide, sometimes while staying on the line so you cannot check.
- The tell
- There is no such thing as a safe account. If your money were at risk we would freeze the account ourselves.
Invoice redirection
- How it starts
- An email from a supplier, builder or solicitor you have been dealing with for weeks, saying their bank details have changed.
- What they actually want
- The next payment, which is often the largest one of the whole project.
- The tell
- Bank details do not change mid-job. Verify by calling a number you already had — never the one in the email.
The purchase that never arrives
- How it starts
- An item on a marketplace at a good but not absurd price, and a seller who wants to move the conversation off the platform.
- What they actually want
- A bank transfer instead of the platform’s own payment, "to save the fees".
- The tell
- A bank transfer has none of the buyer protection a card payment or a platform checkout has. That is why they want it.
The investment with no downside
- How it starts
- An advertisement, often using a public figure’s photograph without permission, promising returns well above anything a deposit pays.
- What they actually want
- An initial deposit, then a second one to "release" the profits shown on a portal that does not exist.
- The tell
- Returns and risk move together, always. A guaranteed return well above the base rate is a guaranteed loss.
The message from your child
- How it starts
- A text from an unknown number: "Mum, this is my new number, my phone is broken." A friendly, plausible conversation follows.
- What they actually want
- An urgent transfer for a bill they cannot pay from the new phone.
- The tell
- Call the number you have saved. If they really have lost their phone, someone else in the family will know.
The refund that overpays
- How it starts
- A caller says you are owed a refund, takes remote control of your computer to "process" it, and shows you a payment for far too much.
- What they actually want
- You to send the difference back. The original payment was never real.
- The tell
- Never let anyone you did not call take control of your device, and never trust a balance shown to you by someone else.
If it has already happened
What to do in the next hour
The single biggest factor in whether money comes back is how quickly we hear about it. Nobody at Reliance Bank will judge you for this — these attacks are professionally run and designed to work on careful people.
- Freeze your card in the app. One tap, instant, reversible.
- Call us on 020 7946 0100, or dial 159 from any phone to be connected to your bank.
- Stop talking to whoever contacted you. Do not warn them, do not confirm anything.
- Change your passcode and check the device list in the app for anything you do not recognise.
- Report it to Action Fraud, so it counts towards the national picture and the case can be linked to others.
Report something suspicious
Call 020 7946 0100, or dial 159 from any phone to be connected to your bank. The line is open every hour of every day.