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Scam guide

The "move your money to a safe account" scam: how fake bank-fraud calls work

Published 1 October 2026 · SafeHop guides

In short: someone calls, texts or messages claiming to be your bank's fraud team. They say your account is under attack and that the only way to protect your money is to move it to a "safe account" or install an app so they can help. There is no safe account. The account they give you belongs to the scammer, and moving your money sends it straight to them. A real bank will never ask you to move money to keep it safe.

Why this scam matters

This is one of the costliest scams in both the UK and the US. In the UK, authorised push payment (APP) fraud — where a victim is tricked into sending money themselves — reached £576.4 million in 2025, according to UK Finance. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission reported that bank impersonators drove close to $1 billion in losses in 2025, with the most expensive version following a script that tells people to move their money "somewhere safe".

How the scam unfolds

  1. The hook. You get a call, text or pop-up warning of "suspicious activity", an "unauthorised payment" or that your account has been "compromised". It may show your bank's real name or even spoof its phone number.
  2. The pressure. The caller sounds calm and official, uses some real details about you, and says you must act now or lose everything. They often tell you not to hang up or speak to anyone else.
  3. The move. They say your current account is no longer safe and you need to transfer your balance to a new "safe", "holding" or "secure" account they set up for you — or to approve payments they read out, or install remote-access software so they can "fix" it.
  4. The loss. The "safe account" is controlled by the scammer. Once the transfer clears, the money is gone, often moved on within minutes.

6 signs it's a scam

  1. Anyone asking you to move money to "keep it safe". This is the clearest sign. Real banks never do this — your money is already safe where it is.
  2. Urgency and secrecy. "Act now", "don't hang up", "don't tell the branch staff why you're withdrawing". Pressure is the tool.
  3. They called or messaged you. A spoofed number can show your bank's real name. The number on the screen proves nothing.
  4. They ask you to install an app or share your screen so they can "guide" or "protect" you. This hands them control of your device.
  5. They ask for a one-time passcode, PIN or full password. Your bank will never ask you to read these out.
  6. A link to "secure your account" that leads to a login page. Check it in the SafeHop message checker before you touch it.

What to do

If you already moved money

  1. Call your bank immediately, using the number on your card, and tell them it was a scam transfer. Speed matters — they may be able to stop or recall it.
  2. In the UK, most banks must reimburse victims of APP scams under Payment Systems Regulator rules introduced in October 2024; UK Finance says £354.3 million was reimbursed to APP fraud victims in 2025. Report the scam to Action Fraud (0300 123 2040, actionfraud.police.uk), or Police Scotland on 101.
  3. In the US, report it at reportfraud.ftc.gov and ask your bank about recovering the funds. Reimbursement is not guaranteed, so acting fast is critical.
  4. Change your online banking password and any passwords you may have shared, and remove any screen-sharing or remote-access app they had you install.

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This guide is general safety information, not legal or financial advice. Companies and authorities are named only to show who scammers pretend to be; SafeHop is not affiliated with any of them.