Seeing a familiar number on your phone can make a call feel trustworthy, but that doesn’t mean the caller is who you think they are.
Fraudsters can disguise the number they’re calling from to make it look like they’re your bank or another organisation you trust. It’s called phone spoofing.
What is phone spoofing?
Phone spoofing is when a fraudster changes the caller ID that appears on your phone. They can make a call appear as if it’s coming from your bank, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the police or a regulator like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
They’ll often use that trust to convince you something is wrong, like there’s been fraud on your account and you need to act immediately to protect your money. They may already know some information about you or your business to make the call sound more legitimate.
Even though the number looks genuine and the caller sounds convincing, you shouldn’t automatically trust them. Don’t rely on the number on your caller ID to verify them.
What could phone spoofing look like?
A business owner received a phone call from someone claiming to be from their bank's Fraud Team. The call seemed trustworthy because the number calling was the same as the bank's official contact number. The phone screen could even say the name of the spoofed business, like Allica.
The caller said that suspicious activity had been detected on their business account and immediate action was needed to prevent further fraudulent payments. To "secure" the account, the business owner was directed to a website that looked like the bank's genuine online banking page.
Believing they were accessing a legitimate security portal, the business owner entered their online banking credentials. They didn't realise the website was actually fraudulent and had been created to capture their login details.
During the call, the business owner received security prompts within their banking app requesting approval for a new device registration, new payees and payments. The fraudster reassured the business owner that these approvals were routine security checks required to protect the account from fraud.
Although the banking app displayed clear warnings advising customers not to approve requests while on a call and explaining that the bank would never ask them to do so, the customer trusted the caller and approved the requests. In total, the business lost £120,000.
Red flags to look out for
Fraudsters often try to create panic, so you act before you have time to question what’s happening. Look out for:
- An unexpected call claiming there’s a problem with your account.
- Someone asking for your PIN, password, passcode or one-time password.
- A caller asking you to move money to ‘keep it safe’ or approve a ‘refund’.
- Requests to click a link or download software.
- Someone asking for remote access to your computer or for you to share screen.
- A caller who doesn’t want you to hang up or check their identity independently.
- Pressure to act immediately.
Be particularly careful if the call catches you at a busy or stressful time. Fraudsters may make contact late in the day, at weekends or around busy periods such as year-end and Christmas, when you might be distracted or away from colleagues who could help you check what’s happening.
If you have been a victim of fraud, contact your bank straight away. The sooner you act, the better the chance of limiting your loss, although there’s no guarantee that money lost to fraud can be recovered.
Don’t trust the number
Phone spoofing works because seeing a familiar number can make us drop our guard. Remember that a number appearing on your phone doesn’t prove who’s calling.
If someone contacts you unexpectedly about your account, asks for security details or tells you to move money, hang up. Then contact the organisation yourself using details you already trust.
Taking a few extra minutes to check could help protect your business and its money from phone spoofing.
Know what to do next
Spotting the signs early is the first step. You can read more about how to protect your business from phone spoofing here:
Worried about fraud?
Visit our Fraud Centre for immediate help and further advice.
