New 159 fraud hotline

[Chris-TalkTalk]

A new emergency hotline has been launched for people to report and check financial scams as they happen

Anyone who receives a call or message from someone claiming to be from a trusted organisation and suggests that money should be transferred or requests personal information is being urged to Stop, hang up and call 159

159 connects you directly to your banks fraud prevention service

You should call 159 if:

• Someone contacts you saying they are from your bank - even if they are not suspicious
• Your receive a call asking you to transfer money or make a payment - even if it seems genuine
• You receive a call about a financial matter and it seems suspicious

Banks that are taking part include:

• Barclays
• Lloyds (including Halifax and Bank of Scotland)
• Natwest (including Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Banks)
• Santander
• Starling Bank

Almost all major telephone companies are participating and almost all UK mobiles and landlines are able to to use 159

The telephone companies are:

• TalkTalk
• BT, including EE and Plusnet
• Gamma
• 02, including giffgaff
• Three
• Virgin Media
• Sky
• Vodafone

If 159 doesn't work for some reason then you should contact your bank in the normal way

Calls to 159 will cost the same as a national rate call and usually part of the included minutes in most phone tariffs

159 has been set up by banks and telephone companies who want to fight fraud. 159 is a pilot scheme at the moment with a view to making it a universal number available on all phones and for all banks

CallSafe

Why not also activate our CallSafe feature? Wouldn't it be nice to pick up your home phone, always knowing it's a call you really want? No nuisance callers, no sales pitches, no scammers. We're helping you get just that. All you have to do is switch on your FREE CallSafe. 

To switch CallSafe on, simply dial 1 4 7 2 from your TalkTalk landline, then press 1. Want to know how to manage Callsafe? see How to use CallSafe