HSBC scam: Bank issues advice about telltale sign that a message is fake | Personal Finance | Finance
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Twitter user @smd_kw messaged HSBC UK after they were contacted by email and WhatsApp. In their message to the bank, they included an image of a card with details of an HSBC employee, designated as a ‘financial advisor’, who they claimed had contacted them via WhatsApp.
They said: “I received a message from the email from this account finance@hsbcbnk.org, is this real or not?
“And he contacted me via WhatsApp, but I do not know the truth of the matter.”
The bank responded saying that the message they had received could likely be fake.
The group said: “This is not from HSBC UK and seems very much to be a scam.
“We do not use .org in any of our emails and certainly never use WhatsApp to contact our customers.
“Please block them and do not divulge any bank account or personal details.”
HSBC recently warned that investment scams were leading to the biggest losses for customers than any other type of fraud.
The average victim lost £14,000 to the cruel con, which can take place over several months or even years.
Fraudsters encourage their victims to keep sending over money with the promise of large returns on their investment.
The warned that it was receiving reports of scams involving trading in genuine companies but being carried out through a fraudulent intermediary.
Victims will be convinced that the scheme is real as they can see their investments or returns through an app or website.
David Callington, HSBC UK’s head of fraud, said: “With the cost of living sky high, it’s no surprise people are lured in by schemes promising low risk for high returns.
“The general rule is that if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Customers can check if a company is authorised via the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) website – if it’s not regulated we wouldn’t recommend investing.”
HSBC said that customers are also losing thousands of pounds to impersonation scams and purchase scams.
Impersonation scams involve a fraudster impersonating a genuine organisation such as a bank, retailer or utility provider.
A purchase scam is where fraudsters trick shoppers into paying in advance for goods or services that are never received.
Mr Callington said: “Unfortunately there are a number of fake adverts being placed on legitimate sites such as Autotrader, Facebook and Ebay.
“As with any big online purchase, it’s important to see the vehicle that’s been advertised in real life before handing over your money.”
Between November 2021 and April 2022, HSBC saw 2,825 scam victims with the total amount of money involved in these scams per month reaching a high of £3.4million in April.
In the same period, HSBC customers reported being scammed out of a total of £20.1million.
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