Jersey residents lose £138,000 in six days to bank text scam

14 people reported a bank text scam in Jersey this week. Credit: Unsplash

Scammers sending fake bank texts have stolen £138,000 from Jersey residents in less than a week.

People are being urged not to respond to this type of message, with similar incidents seen across the Channel Islands in recent weeks.

Jersey Police say they received 14 separate reports of so-called 'spoofing' between Boxing Day and 9 January 2024 - where scammers disguise their numbers to pretend to be from banks or other companies.

Fraudulent texts often warn about scams as a way of winning trust and panicking their victim.

They may use real personal information to convince people they are genuine before asking for bank information to move money into a "safe" account when they are taking it for themselves.

Just last week, Guernsey Police warned of a similar scam claiming to be from HSBC.

An example of a scam text message which uses words like "crypto" to confuse victims into responding. Credit: States of Jersey Police

Jersey Police explained: "If you get a call or text claiming something is wrong with your account do not respond. Instead, go to the service provider yourself and check to see if this is legitimate or not."

Other key advice:

  • Do not trust the caller ID or number that is displayed on your phone.

  • Do not give out any personal information including security codes.

  • End the call, wait 5 minutes, then contact the service provider rather than the numbers provided.

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