HSBC warns Britons of password scam that ‘appears genuine’ to steal your money

HSBC is warning its customers to “never” share one-time passcodes as criminals are using this as their latest scam tactic to get access to a person’s money.

The bank’s recent statement reads: “Fraudsters may contact you claiming to be from HSBC and appear genuine.

“They will claim you need to take action to protect your account because it’s been compromised.”

HSBC said they may ask people to “share a one-time passcode” or “delete the HSBC UK Mobile Banking app”.

However, HSBC noted: “Doing either of these could give a fraudster access to your money. We will NEVER contact you and ask you to share your security details or one-time passcodes.

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“These codes should never be shared. They are one-time-use, numeric codes which are used to confirm your identity or approve genuine transactions you’ve made. The codes will not initiate a refund or reverse a transaction.”

HSBC added: “If you’ve shared any security details, call us using the number on the back of your card and report it to Action Fraud.”

Likening financial scams to “a multiple-headed Hydra from Greek mythology”, Myron Jobson, senior personal finance analyst at interactive investor said: “Where every time one scam is exposed, many more emerge in its wake.”

According to the Quarterly Fraud Report from money.co.uk, fraud and cyber crime were very slightly up from the previous quarter in January 2023 to March 2023, with 85,171 crimes recorded. This resulted in an average loss per victim of £6,188.

Over the course of 12 months, the report found a staggering £3.9billion in total was collectively lost to fraudsters.

Mr Jobson continued: “Financial scams are ever-evolving beasts that need taming. The hope is the Online Safety Bill will go some way in plugging the flood of financial fraud, but the onus is also on individuals to avoid falling prey to financial fraud – there is no getting away from it.

“A fraud loss would be particularly painful for households during the cost of living crisis, so it is important to be extra vigilant.

“Fraudsters are only too willing to exploit any ignorance or naivety. We often overestimate our ability to spot a financial scam when, in reality, even those who consider themselves financially savvy aren’t immune to increasingly sophisticated scams.”

In addition to the basics, which include not sharing login credentials and ensuring that online transactions are made from secure and trusted websites, Mr Jobson said: “Be mindful of who you disclose personal information to and remember that if a proposition seems too good to be true then it probably is.”