Starling Bank, the British digital challenger bank, has launched a new tool to help customers identify and protect themselves against bank impersonation scams.
Through the new tool, Starling Bank is hoping to help customers identify and protect themselves against bank impersonation scams. A ‘call status indicator’ will instantly let customers know if they’re receiving a genuine call from Starling, enabling them to quickly know if a scammer is on the phone, trying to persuade them to make a payment.
Progress is already evident regarding cutting down on impersonation scams in the UK. In 2023, the number of fraud cases involving criminals impersonating a bank and convincing victims to transfer money to a ‘safe account’ fell by 37 per cent compared to the previous year, while the amount lost to this type of fraud fell by 28 per cent, according to UK Finance. This comes after significant investment went into warning consumers that banks will never ask someone to transfer money in this way.
However, despite 84 per cent of UK adults being aware of bank impersonation scams, it still accounts for around £78.9million of losses per year.
In an attempt to further squash this type of fraud, now whenever someone opens their Starling app, they will see one of the following messages:
“We’ve never called you”
“We’re calling you now”
“You’re on a call with Starling”
“We aren’t calling you”
“No recent calls [including information on when Starling last spoke with them]”
Starling Bank says the tool should give customers peace of mind and reduce fraud losses. The call status indicators are visible on the home screen and within the payment screen – where a customer would look if they were pressured into transferring funds.
Giving customers peace of mind
Sarah Lenette, financial crime specialist at Starling Bank, said: “We’re constantly looking for new ways to stop scammers in their tracks. Bank impersonations are very sophisticated and anyone can become a victim. Call status indicators give our customers confidence to know whether they’re being contacted by a genuine representative of the bank, or a con artist, which is why we’re proud to launch this today.”
Starling Bank recently launched a Safe Phrases campaign to encourage families and friends to create a secret phrase, so they can verify they are talking to the real person in the event of an Artificial Intelligence voice fraud. Call status indicators become another part of Starling Banks’ ongoing work to protect its customers from fraud
Starling explained that it has never called the majority of its customers. The digital challenger bank also suggests hanging up and calling 159 if a consumer receives a phone call asking them to transfer money to keep it safe.
When they call 159, they get through to the bank directly and securely. It also highlights that many scammers ‘spoof’ phone numbers to make them look like they’re from a legitimate source – highlighting the importance of hanging up and calling themselves.
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