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ACTIVE CRISIS

Someone from my bank told me to move my money: what do I do now?

Stop. Don't move any more money. Hang up or close the chat. Then call your bank yourself, on the number on the back of your card or in your banking app. A real bank does not ask you to move your money to a "safe account" to protect it. This is a common scam, and it's not your fault. It is built to feel urgent and official.

Do this first

  • End the call or chat, and don't call back any number they gave you
  • Call your bank on a number you know is real (in the UK: 159)
  • Don't share any codes sent to your phone
01

Step 1: Stop all contact

Do this now: hang up. If they call back, don't answer. If they texted or emailed, don't reply and don't click anything.

The FTC's advice is simple: "Don't move money to 'protect it.'" That request is the clearest sign of the scam.

If they told you to stay on the line, keep it secret, or not to tell your bank, that is part of the script. Scammers say it because a real bank would stop the payment.

02

Step 2: Call your bank yourself

Use the number on the back of your card, on a bank statement, or in your banking app. Don't use a number from the call, text or email.

  • In the UK: call 159. It connects you directly to your bank and works for more than 99% of UK retail bank current accounts. Stop Scams UK says 159 "cannot be spoofed or impersonated".
  • If money already moved: tell your bank it was a scam and ask them to stop or recall the payment. The FBI's advice after a fraudulent transfer is that "time is of the essence": contact your bank immediately and request a recall of the funds.
  • If you shared login details or codes: ask the bank to lock your online banking. Then change your password from a device the scammer never had access to.

What to tell your bank: what the caller said, what you did, any amounts and account numbers you sent money to, and the time of each payment.

03

Step 3: Check what else they had access to

The FBI describes how this scam often works: criminals pose as bank staff or support to get your login details, including one-time passcodes, and then "quickly wire funds to other criminal-controlled accounts, many of which are linked to cryptocurrency wallets". Source: FBI public service announcement, November 25, 2025.

04

Step 4: Where do I report it?

05

How do you know it wasn't really your bank?

  • They asked you to move money to keep it safe. UK Finance describes this exact pattern as impersonation fraud: criminals "pose as a bank, the police or an organisation and convince victims to transfer money to a 'safe account'".
  • They asked for a code or your password. The FBI notes that companies generally do not contact you to ask for your username, password or one-time passcode.
  • The call started with an alarm. The FTC found that these scams often begin with a fake security alert, such as "Someone is using your accounts" or "Your information is being used to commit crimes".
  • The number on your screen looked right. That doesn't prove anything. The FBI's advice: "don't trust caller ID. Hang up, verify the correct number, and call it yourself."
  • They passed you to someone else. The FTC warns that scammers often "tag team you", passing you from one fake caller to another, for example to someone pretending to be from the FTC.
06

What happens next?

Be honest with your bank about every step, even the parts that feel embarrassing. It helps them act faster.

Expect a second contact. People who lose money are often called again by someone offering to get it back for a fee, or posing as the police or a government agency. In 2025, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center saw more complaints about scammers posing as government officials and recovery firms. Real agencies don't charge you to recover money.

You're not alone in this. The FTC says people reported losing nearly $1 billion USD to scammers posing as businesses in 2025, and that bank impersonators caused the highest reported losses.

Related situations

Sources

This page was last reviewed: November 2, 2026.
Drafted with AI assistance. Every figure and link on this page was checked against the official source cited for it. Not yet reviewed by a human editor.