Banks issue fraud warnings after spike in scam calls

Local banks have issued fraud warnings after detecting a spike in the number of people receiving scam calls in recent days.

Scammers purporting to be from bank fraud departments are ringing both retail and business customers telling them their accounts have been compromised and seeking to elicit personal data.

In some cases, customers have been directed to spoof websites designed to harvest personal data.

In an alert to customers, the Gibraltar International Bank said it was aware of “a large number of fraudster calls” impersonating bank staff.

Likewise Natwest urged customers to stay alert for “impersonation scams”.

The advice is to never share personal or security details and hang up on calls purporting to be from the bank, whose staff would never ask for personal or security.

Customers should only contact their banks using trusted published numbers or through their relationship managers.