Bank impersonation scam: the script, and what to do
The fake bank adviser calls “from the fraud department”, knows your name, your address and the last digits of your card, and asks you to confirm a code or approve a payment “to block a fraud”. A bank never asks that. Hang up, and call back the number on the back of your card from another phone.
By Sébastien Secrecy · Updated on
How does the fake adviser’s call unfold?
They know things about you. Name, address, bank, last four digits of the card, sometimes the name of your adviser: all of it can be bought after the data leaks. Each accurate detail buys the next one, which is false.
They manufacture urgency. “Suspicious operations are in progress, they must be blocked now.” They have your bank send you a real code, from the real number, and ask you to read it out. Or they have you approve in the app “to cancel”.
They invite you to check. “Hang up and call the number on the back of your card.” On a landline, they can hold the line and play a fake dial tone: you land back on them. It is the most devious move, described by the British police.
The figures: fraud by manipulation rose 37% in the first half of 2025, 245 million euros (Banque de France), and requests for help about fake bank advisers rose 159% over the year (Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr).
What to do
- Never give a code, nor approve a payment at the request of someone who calls you. A bank never asks you to step in to block an operation.
- Hang up yourself, even if the person insists, even if the number on the screen is your bank’s.
- Call back the number on the back of your card from another phone, or wait five minutes on a landline.
- Never hand your card to a courier, and make no “security” transfer.
- Report it: in France, Info Escroqueries, 0 805 805 817, free; Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr for guidance; online complaint. In the UK, Action Fraud, 0300 123 2040; in the US, reportfraud.ftc.gov.
And TrustWords?
TrustWords does not verify your bank: it verifies your loved ones. But the move is the same when the caller poses as your son, your granddaughter or someone calling “for” them: a file recited, an emergency, a ban on hanging up, a fake verification. With two shared words, renewed every ten minutes, the question of identity is settled in ten seconds; and if the words do not match, the app has you do the right things in order.
Frequently asked questions
Can my bank call me to block an operation?
It can warn you, but it will never ask you for a code, an approval in the app, a transfer or your card. As soon as the caller asks for one of the four, it is a scammer, whatever the number on the screen.
The number on the screen was my bank’s
A number can be spoofed. Since numbers are authenticated, fraudsters also call from ordinary mobile numbers or through messaging apps. The number on the screen proves nothing; only a call you make yourself counts.
I gave a code: what now?
Call your bank without waiting, from another phone, to block the card and dispute the operations; change your codes; file a complaint. Keep every message received: they help with the refund.
Sources: Banque de France, Observatoire de la sécurité des moyens de paiement, 27 January 2026; Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, fake bank adviser factsheet; economie.gouv.fr; Metropolitan Police.