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uk Money & financial emergencies

What to do if…
you get a bank alert about a new payee or device you did not authorise

Produced and maintained by PanicStation.org Published: Last reviewed: Editorial policy UK guide

Short answer

Do not approve anything, click links, or call numbers in the alert. Contact your bank through a trusted route you choose yourself and ask them to secure your account immediately.

Do not do these things

  • Don’t tap links in the alert, and don’t call a phone number shown in a text, email, or unexpected notification.
  • Don’t share one-time passcodes, security codes, card PINs, full passwords, or online banking logins with anyone.
  • Don’t approve a new device, new payee, payment, card-to-wallet, or sign-in prompt unless you started it.
  • Don’t move money to a “safe account” because someone tells you to.
  • Don’t stay on a suspicious call while you check; hang up first, then contact your bank yourself.
  • Don’t delete the alert until you have taken a screenshot or written down the basic details, if you can do that safely.

What to do now

  1. Stop the interaction. Close the message or prompt. If you are on a call about it, hang up.

  2. Contact your bank safely.

    • Open your bank app yourself, not through a link, and use its fraud or contact route, or call the number on the back of your card or on your bank’s official website.
    • If you have just had a suspicious call about your bank, you can dial 159 to be connected to your bank if your bank participates and your phone network supports it. If 159 does not work for you, use the number on your card or your bank’s official website instead.

  3. Ask the bank to lock things down while you are in contact. Ask them to:

    • Block or freeze online banking, cards, and mobile-wallet use if needed.
    • Remove or disable the new payee or beneficiary.
    • Revoke any unrecognised devices, app sessions, browser sessions, or payment approvals.
    • Check for changes you did not make, including email address, phone number, postal address, new cards, new payees, and spending limits.
    • Check whether any transfers, card payments, mobile-wallet payments, or pending payments have been set up.

  4. If any money has left or is pending, say so immediately. Ask the bank to try to stop, recall, trace, or block the payment, and ask them to record the case as suspected fraud or unauthorised activity where appropriate.

  5. Secure the recovery routes attackers may use.

    • Change the password for the email account linked to your bank, using a different device if you are worried your usual device is compromised.
    • Turn on stronger sign-in protection for that email account if it is available.
    • If your phone signal suddenly drops, your SIM stops working, or you get unexpected SIM or network messages, contact your mobile provider using a trusted number and ask them to check for SIM-swap activity.

  6. Capture the basic evidence without engaging further.

    • Screenshot the alert showing the date and time.
    • Write down any bank case reference, the time you contacted the bank, and what the bank said it blocked or changed.
    • Keep suspicious texts, emails, and notifications for now unless your bank tells you to remove them.

  7. Report the scam through official UK routes when the bank is secured.

    • If you are in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, report fraud and cyber crime through Report Fraud.
    • If you are in Scotland, report to Police Scotland by calling 101 if it is not an emergency.
    • Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.
    • Forward suspicious texts to 7726.

  8. Reduce the risk of identity or credit misuse if your details may have been exposed.

    • Check your credit file for new accounts or credit searches you do not recognise.
    • Consider paid Cifas Protective Registration if you are worried someone may try to use your identity to apply for credit.

What can wait

  • You do not need to decide today whether to switch banks, close every account, replace your phone, or buy security software unless your bank or mobile provider tells you it is needed now.
  • You do not need to build a full timeline immediately; basic screenshots, times, and reference numbers are enough for the first pass.
  • You do not need to keep replying to messages, call the sender back, or investigate the scammer yourself.

Important reassurance

A new payee or device alert is exactly the kind of warning that gives you a chance to stop further harm. Acting through a trusted bank route is the right first move, even if you are not yet sure whether money has left.

Scope note

These are first steps to stabilise the situation, secure the account, and prevent further loss. Later decisions about complaints, reimbursement, credit-file protection, or device checks may need help from your bank, a regulated financial firm, the police, or another specialist service.

Important note

This is general information, not legal, medical, financial, therapeutic, technical, or professional advice. If you feel threatened or there is immediate danger, call 999. Always use contact details you have sourced independently, such as your bank card, official website, or in-app contact route, not details provided in an unexpected message.

Additional Resources

Closely connected guides that may be useful during the same situation or its immediate aftermath.

About this guide

This guide was produced and is maintained by PanicStation.org using its published editorial process. Official and specialist sources are checked where relevant, and AI-assisted tools may be used for drafting, organisation, and consistency checks. The site operator remains responsible for publication, revision, and removal decisions.

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