How to report fraud


Reporting fraud or scams

If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud or a scam, it’s important that you report it to us straight away. Before calling us, follow the steps below to be sure that it’s fraud.

  • Ask a joint account holder – If anyone else is named on the account, check to see if they’ve made the transaction.
  • Check for ongoing subscriptions - Many online services use a subscription plan that’ll automatically charge you after an initial free or discounted period expires. Check any services you’ve previously subscribed to but haven't cancelled.
  • Check the exchange rates - If you bought something in a foreign currency, the exchange rate conversion is likely to show a different amount in sterling.
  • Check the business name - Some businesses use a different name on your statement which you might not recognise. Find out more on our unrecognised transactions unrecognised transactions page.

If you still don't recognise this transaction, please call us on 0330 9 123 123 or 0800 313 4321 (freephone) and we'll look into it for you.

Reporting your card as lost or stolen

If your card has been lost or stolen, please report it. We’ll cancel it straight away and send a replacement to you in the post.

Or if you’ve forgotten where your card is, you can freeze and unfreeze your MasterCard in the Mobile app instead of cancelling it right away.

Read our  lost and stolen cards page to find out the easiest ways to report your card as lost or stolen.

If you’ve shared your personal or security details after getting a suspicious phone call, text message or email, call us straight away on 0330 9 123 123 or 0800 313 4321 (freephone) so we can help protect your accounts. You can also report suspicious emails and texts using the channels below.

  • If you’ve received a suspicious email that looks like it’s from us, please report it to phishing@santander.co.uk 
  • You can also report any phishing emails to the National Cyber Security Centre using their Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) at report@phishing.gov.uk
  • If you’ve received a suspicious text message that appears to be from Santander please report it to smishing@santander.co.uk 
  • You can also report any suspicious text messages to your mobile network provider by forwarding the text message to 7726

Spotting a suspicious call

No one from Santander, not even our fraud team, will ask you to give them your PIN or OTP (One Time Passcode). If someone asks you for this on the phone, it will be fraud. Hang up and call us on the number above. 

Telephone scams usually impersonate your bank, the police or another trusted organisation. They may give you fake details like a crime reference number and ask you to help with a fraud case. Or tell you that there's been fraudulent activity on your account. A genuine bank (or organisation) will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, full password or OTP number.

Please be cautious if a caller asks to access your device remotely. If they ask you to download software to allow them to fix, upgrade or protect your device, you need to be aware that this means they’ll be able to see everything. You should never log on to Online Banking or any other sensitive site when this software is running.

Spotting a suspicious text message

Any text message with links that ask you to update your banking details or log on to your account will be fake. The text message may even appear in a thread of previous genuine messages from Santander, such as previously sent OTP numbers. This is easily faked and isn't proof that it's from us.

A genuine bank or organisation will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, password or OTP number. If a text message or call asks you to do this, it will be fraud.

Spotting a suspicious email

Email scams can be very convincing and look real. Here are some signs to spot a fraudulent email.

  • The email is impersonal and addresses you by either 'Dear Sir/Madam' or uses your email address, for example, 'Dear yourname @address.com'
  • The sender's email address doesn't match the website address or organisation name it says it's from.
  • They ask you to click a link to update your personal information.
  • They tell you something is urgent and needs your immediate attention.

Don't click a link in an email requesting your details. If you're even slightly unsure, phone the company directly (using a number on their main website) and tell them you've received a suspicious email. You can read more detail about scams and how to spot them on our spotting fraud and scams page or visit the Take Five website.

If you see a transaction on your account you don't recognise, it could be a retailer or business that uses a different name, or it could be a case of fraud.

Take a look at our unrecognised transactions page to find out more. 

Report a fraudulent transaction

If you don’t recognise a card transaction and you believe it's fraud, you can report it in the Mobile Banking App.

If you don’t have the mobile app, or for any other transactions call us on 0330 9 123 123 or 0800 313 4321 (freephone). If you’re calling from abroad, please contact us on +44 1512 648 725. Our fraud team is available 24 hours a day. 

A card dispute is when you’ve used your credit or debit card to buy something but it’s not as you expected, so you want to get your money back.

We may be able to raise a dispute on your behalf to try and claim your money back, but it’s always best to contact the company in the first instance.

We’ll need some information from you to support your dispute. Please visit our disputed transactions page to find out more.

There are times we may contact you to check a transaction is genuine. We use an automated service so we can reach you as quickly as possible for any potentially suspicious activity.

Automated phone call

  • The call will ask for some security details, so we know we've reached the right person.
  • You’ll be asked to confirm your name and date of birth. 
  • We’ll then read out the transactions we need you to confirm.
  • If you confirm these are genuine, you can carry on as normal. If any payments declined, you'll need to make them again.
  • If you don’t recognise a transaction, you can speak with one of our team who can help you.

Please remember, we'll never ask for details such as your card PIN, Online Banking passwords and One Time Passcodes (OTP). If you're asked to share these, hang up and call us on 0330 9 123 123 or 0800 313 4321 (freephone).

Interactive text message

  • You’ll get 2 messages. The first message lets you know we need to confirm some transactions with you.
  • The second message will give details of the transactions. You'll be asked to reply with ‘Y’ to confirm those transactions are genuine, or ‘N’ to confirm you don’t recognise one or more of the transactions.
  • If you reply ‘Y, you can continue banking as normal. You’ll need to make any payments that were declined, again.
  • If you reply ‘N’, we’ll call you back as soon as possible between 8am-10pm or we’ll give you a number you can call us on.

If we can't reach you

If you aren't available, we'll contact you to let you know we have been trying to get in touch and ask you to call us back as soon as you can. 

We may need to stop or hold your account or payment until we can speak to you. This is to protect your money, and keep your accounts safe.

Are your details correct?

To protect you and use automated fraud monitoring, we need to make sure your details are correct. Please check and update your contact details using Online Banking, giving us a call or visiting us in a branch.

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