Deepak Gupta

Brand and service impersonation · Also called safe account scam, bank impersonation scam, fake fraud department call, move your money to protect it

Bank safe account and fraud department scam

A safe account scam is a call or text from someone posing as your bank's fraud team, or sometimes the police, who says your account is under attack. They persuade you to move your money to a new safe account to protect it, but that account belongs to the scammer.

How it works

A text asks you to confirm a suspicious payment, or a caller with a spoofed bank number says fraud has been spotted on your account.
The caller sounds professional, may already know some of your details, and may ask for a verification code to prove who you are.
They say your money is only safe if you move it now, to a new account, a crypto kiosk, or as cash handed to a courier.
The money goes straight to the criminals, who may call back with more reasons to move the rest.

Red flags

A caller says your money must be moved to a new account to keep it safe.
You are asked to read out a verification code that was just sent to your phone.
You are told not to tell bank staff the real reason for the transfer, or given a cover story to use.
The caller wants you to act immediately and stay on the phone while you move money.

If you are targeted

Stop contact: hang up and do not move or send any more money.
Call your bank on the number on the back of your card or on your statement, ideally from a different phone.
If you moved money or shared a code, ask the bank to try to recall the payment and to secure your accounts.
Report it. Our Report a scam page lists where to report in your country, such as ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US.
In the UK, you can call 159 to reach your bank safely.

Where to report, by country

Prevention

For individuals

Remember the FTC's rule: anyone who says you must move your money to protect it is a scammer.
Never share a verification code with a caller, even one who says they work in your bank's fraud department.
Do not trust caller ID or a number in a text; hang up and call your bank on a number you already know.

For organisations

Banks can pause large or unusual transfers to new payees and ask customers directly whether someone told them to move the money.
Banks can tell customers clearly and often that staff will never ask them to move money to a safe account or to share a code.

By the numbers

Figures are for the reporting category this scam falls under, not this scam alone.

Tech and customer support scam losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025	$2.13B	US, 2025, FBI IC3
Business impersonator losses reported to the FTC in 2025 (nearly this amount)	$1B	US, 2025, FTC
Imposter scam losses reported to the FTC in 2025 (more than this amount)	$3.5B	US, 2025, FTC
Authorised push payment fraud losses in the UK in 2025	£576.4M	GB, 2025, UK Finance

Real cases

No documented case in the atlas yet. New cases are added as they are sourced.

Delivered through: Voice phishing (vishing), SMS phishing (smishing)

How official datasets classify it

FBI IC3: Tech/Customer Support
FTC: Business Imposters
UK Finance: Impersonation: police/bank staff

Questions

Will my bank ever ask me to move money to a safe account?: No. The FTC says your money is fine where it is and that anyone who says you have to move it to protect it is a scammer. Hang up and call your bank on a number you trust.
Can I get my money back after a safe account scam?: Contact your bank straight away and ask it to recall the payment. Speed matters, and in some countries, including the UK, banks may reimburse victims of this kind of authorised payment scam.