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Take Five

Take Five: The steps to fraud prevention

Here at Nottingham Building Society we are supporting the Take Five campaign, led by FFA UK (part of UK Finance) and backed by the Government, in order to make sure that our customers are able to recognise and safeguard against fraudulent activity. With other industry bodies we're working hard to protect customers from fraud and the millions of pounds of losses that can come from it - not to mention the emotional stress that it can cause. 

How to detect fraud

Everyone knows that you shouldn’t give away your PIN or account password but it can be difficult to think straight under pressure. That’s why the Take Five campaign is here. It's aim is to encourage you to take five minutes before you answer anyone’s questions about your finances regardless of whether it’s in person, via email or on the phone.

We at Nottingham Building Society will never call you and request that you disclose memorable information such as personal log on details or passwords and neither will any other bank or building society. Listen to your instincts. Don’t assume that a call, email or message is genuine. If something sounds too good to be true, or even a bit fishy, it probably is! 

Take your time. We will never rush you for details and we won’t mind if you want to end a call and call us on a number you know and trust.

Follow these steps and you should be able to identify when contact from your bank or building society is genuine and when it isn’t. 

  1. Never disclose full security details such as memorable information, PINs or passwords. Legitimate organisations such as building societies and banks will never ask you for your full PIN or password.
  2. Don’t assume that a call, email or message is genuine. If you have concerns, head to branch or call customer services for help. They will be able to see if the outbound call to you was genuine. 
  3. Think before you click on any links in emails or text messages. Check the email addresses that these messages have been sent from - fraudsters can set up emails that can look legitimate at a single glance. 
  4. Listen to your instincts - you’ll probably know if something is fishy!
  5. Don’t worry about taking your time. If you’re not sure about something, a real financial service provider won’t rush you for any details. 
  6. Finally, don’t panic. Take your time and remember that it’s OK to be suspicious. 

 Things to remember

  • Don’t choose obvious answers to ‘secret questions’ as part of a log in process such as pet’s names or a memorable place if these are things that you talk about quite openly on social media. 
  • Your bank will never ask you for any account details such as your PIN or password or ask you to do something like moving your own money to a ‘safe account’. 
  • Be aware that popular shopping times such as Christmas and Black Friday can attract scammers to try new tricks. Popular financial periods such as the end of the tax year can also increase the number of scam emails to encourage people to disclose information whilst masquerading themselves as financial services. 
  • Always check, when shopping online, that websites are secure with a padlock symbol next to the URL - remember that this does not always guaranteed that there will not be any fraudulent activity that occurs. Remember that a great offer could be too good to be true. 
  • Fraud can occur through a number of channels that you may not have originally thought such as dating websites, door to door sales and even abuse of trust from people that you know. Even if someone you know, or you’re getting to know is asking you for details, think twice before giving them access to your financial data. 

What to do if you think you’ve been a victim of fraud

If you have noticed any unusual transactions in your account, contact your bank or building society straight away. You can call us on 0344 481 4444. Alternatively, you can contact ActionFraud or call your local police station on 101.

Reporting a scam

If you feel you've been sent a HMRC tax scam or a different scam text, email or website link, it's really important that you report it.