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Is This Call Real logoIs This Call Real
How to check

Is this really your bank calling?

How to tell whether a call from your bank is real, in five steps you can do in a few minutes.

The Editors3 min read

A phone lock screen showing a text message about a blocked credit card
Image by niekverlaan from Pixabay

Why it's hard to tell

Caller ID can show a bank's real name and number, because that information is trivial to fake. A caller can also already know a real name and the last four digits of a card, pulled from a data breach and sold in bulk, which feels like proof of identity even though it proves nothing at all.

On top of that, real banks do occasionally call about fraud. That is what makes this specific scam effective: it borrows the shape of a real call and adds one request no genuine bank ever makes.

Common tricks used

  • Claiming urgent suspicious activity on an account, right now, today.
  • Asking for money to be moved into a new "safe" account.
  • Asking for a one-time code that was just sent by text.
  • Discouraging a hang-up to verify, by saying it will cause a delay or lose the chance to protect the money.
  • A second caller joining to sound more official, sometimes claiming to be a supervisor or an investigator.

How to verify, step by step

  1. Hang up, regardless of how official the call sounded or how much the caller already seemed to know.
  2. If on a landline, wait a minute before picking it back up, since some lines can stay connected after a caller hangs up on their end.
  3. Find the number on the back of the card, or on a recent statement. UK readers can instead dial 159, a short number that connects directly and safely to more than two dozen UK banks and cannot be faked.
  4. Call that number directly and ask whether anything is actually flagged on the account.
  5. Never call back a number the original caller gave, texted, or left in an email, even if it looks like the right one.

Things to watch

  • Pressure to act before there is time to verify independently.
  • Any request for a one-time code, password, or full card number over the phone.
  • Instructions to move money, withdraw cash, or buy cryptocurrency.
  • A second caller added to the line to sound more convincing.

If money or a code has already been shared, the next step matters more than anything else. Read what to do after you shared a code or gave someone access.

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