Lloyds Bank is well-known and used by thousands of people, but this unfortunately provides the opportunity for the name to be exploited by bad faith actors. This was the case for one woman who sounded the alarm on what is being described as a “new text scam”. Taking to social media, the woman concerned highlighted a suspicious text she had received relating to activity taking place on her bank account.
A response, therefore, informs the scammers there is an active, real person at the other end of the line – someone who could be their next victim.
From this point, it is likely a fraudster will contact the individual claiming to be a representative from Lloyds Bank.
While it is not yet clear the methods these individuals use for this scam, it is likely Britons will be asked to share their personal and banking information.
Although people may feel this is to secure their account, in fact, the opposite is true.
Once criminals have a person’s sensitive information they could use it to commit identity fraud and steal large sums of an individual’s hard-earned cash.
However, now scammers have their hands on a person’s phone number, this may not be the only scam they could be targeted with.
Armed with the knowledge there is an actual person who can respond, cybercriminals may go on to deploy a wide range of techniques such as phone calls, texts and even emails claiming to be from different companies.
These will all be in attempts to further scam the person who originally responded, and consequently could be majorly devastating.
Lloyds Bank, via social media, has highlighted the correspondence as a “new text scam”, and the matter has been passed onto the bank’s fraud team for further investigation.
Britons should never respond to this type of text message, and instead should delete it as soon as possible.
Reporting the matter to one’s bank is often also considered a sensible course of action.
Indeed, if a person does believe they have fallen victim to a scam, they are encouraged to reach out to Action Fraud – the national fraud and cybercrime reporting service.
If someone feels they have parted with personal details such as banking information, they should immediately contact their provider to see if the payment can be stopped.
Recently, Lloyds Bank issued a warning to the so-called ‘Scamwich Generation’ of parents with younger children, and elderly parents.
Some 86 percent of UK parents said they were concerned about a family member failing victim to fraud, worried about their own children as well as older parents.
Philip Robinson, Fraud Prevention Director at Lloyds Bank, said: “Lockdown has placed increased pressure on the ‘Scamwich Generation’ of parents and many feel responsible for protecting their loved ones.
“Fraud is on the rise and scams are increasingly sophisticated, so it’s understandable that parents are worried about their relatives falling victim.
“We recognise the important role this generation plays on the frontline fight against fraud, ensuring their family members are safe, and we’re committed to helping customers to continue to do so.”
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