Anybody can fall victim to fraudsters and scams, especially online. Scammers make their living by tricking people out of their hard-earned savings, so knowing how to spot a scam is an important skill.

• A bank, building society or other trusted organisations will never contact you unexpectedly to ask for personal financial information or to ask you to move money to another account, often referred to as a ‘safe account’.
• Never click on links from unexpected or suspicious emails or texts as this could give fraudsters access to your personal or financial details.
• Always question unexpected approaches in case its fraudulent. If you’re unsure whether the approach is genuine or not, contact the company directly using a known email or phone number, and not the number those approaching you have provided.
• A genuine organisation will never rush you into making financial transaction and will never ask you to transfer money into another account.
• If something feels wrong or seems “too good to be true” then it’s usually right to question it. Take the time to think about any offer, even if it’s genuine. Don’t be embarrassed to say ‘no’ or ask them to leave.

For more information, visit www.takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/

• When you open an account, and call us to transact on your account with us we will check your identity to ensure it is you.
• We may provide you with passwords or other security measures which we will ask you to confirm with us when you want to transact on your accounts. It is important that you keep any passwords or other security measures we provide to you safe and do not disclose them to anyone.
• When you open an account we will ask you to provide us with details, and evidence of, an account in your name where we will send any withdrawals you make to.
• When you make payments into your account or withdraw money we may ask you questions about those transactions.
• We operate the Confirmation of Payee system which checks the name on an account when someone wants to make a payment to it. That can help them decide if they want to continue with that transaction. More details on CoP can be found in our downloadable leaflet -

Confirmation of Payee leaflet

If you receive an unsolicited call or email from someone claiming to be from Teachers Building Society and are unsure if it is genuine:

• Do not disclose any personal information or passwords to the caller.
• Do not agree to transfer or withdraw any money.
• Terminate the call, and make sure you hang up correctly.
• Do not respond to any email or open any attachments.
• Please get in touch with us on 0800 783 2367 and we’ll be able to confirm for you whether the call or email was genuine or not.
• If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via Action Fraud
• Call 999 if you feel threatened or in danger. Call the police non-emergency number 101 if you’re not in immediate danger but want to report an incident.

This will depend on the type of fraud, whether you are eligible to make a claim, how quickly you act, and your co-operation with law enforcement agencies. For example, if you are scammed into making an online payment you may be able to get your money back under the Push Payment (App) Reimbursement scheme. There are some detailed eligibility criteria for this scheme and timelines for a claim. Full details can be found here Authorised Push Payments leaflet