If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud or a scam, it’s important that you tell us straight away. Here are some things you can check first, if you’re not sure.
- 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 page.
How to contact us
If you need to report fraud that has happened on your card, the quickest and easiest way to do this is in our mobile app. Tap the transaction you don't recognise, then 'Help with this transaction' to get started.
If you're not able to use the app, or for all other transaction types call us on 0330 9 123 123 or 0800 313 4321 (freephone).
Fraud
Fraud is when someone uses your account or card without your permission.
You didn’t authorise the payment and you don’t know who made it.
Scam
A scam is when you’re mislead or deceived into sending money or sharing details.
You provided your card details or authorised the payment at the time, but you were misled, pressured or deceived.
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 believe it is fraud, you can report it in the Mobile Banking App. This is the quickest and easiest way to report it.
Tap the transaction you don’t recognise. Then select ‘Help with this transaction’ to get started.
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 +441512 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.
Sometimes we’ll decline a payment, if we spot something that doesn’t look right. We’ll usually get in touch with you in one of these ways to check if the payment was you:
- A push notification from the Mobile Banking app.
- A text message sent to your registered mobile number.
- A phone call.
Once we’ve confirmed it was you making the payment, you can remake it if you or the merchant hasn’t already.
Mobile Banking App
- If you’ve got the Mobile Banking app you’ll get a push notification if you have this turned on. You can tap the notification to go to the right place in the app.
- You’ll then be able to choose any transactions you don’t recognise.
- If you don’t have push notifications turned on, we’ll send you an SMS with instructions on how to check this in the app.
Text messages
We may send you a text message about your declined payment. Some messages will tell you that we’ve declined the payment and ask you to call us. Some messages will ask you to reply to the text message.
If the text asks you to reply, this is what to expect:
- We’ll send you two messages. The first will tell you there are transactions we need to check. The second will list the transactions and ask you to reply.
- Reply “Y” if you recognise the transactions. You can then continue banking as normal. You may need to remake any payments that were declined.
- Reply “N” if you don’t recognise the transactions. We’ll call you as soon as possible between 8am and 10pm. Outside these times, you can call us so a colleague can help you.
Phone call
- You'll be asked for some security details, so we know we’ve reached the right person.
- We'll then read out the transactions we want you to confirm.
- If you confirm you recognise the transactions, you can continue banking as normal. If any payments were declined, you may need to remake them if you or the merchant hasn’t already.
- If you don't recognise one or more of the transactions, you can speak with one of our team who will help you further.
- Remember, we'll never ask for details such as your PIN, Online Banking passwords and One Time Passcodes (OTP). If you're asked to share these, hang up and call us anytime on 0330 9 123 123 or 0800 313 4321 (freephone).