Recognising scams by text, call and message: smishing, vishing and impersonation

The common types

• Smishing is phishing by text message. Typical examples claim a delivery is waiting, a fine or toll is unpaid, a tax refund is due or an account has been suspended, and include a link.
• Vishing is phishing by voice call. The caller may claim to be from your bank, the police, a phone company, a government department or technical support.
• Impersonation by messaging app often starts with a message such as 'Hi Mum, this is my new number', followed by an urgent request for money.
• Fake contact from a real company can arrive through social media, where accounts pose as customer service and reply to public complaints.

The warning signs

• Urgency or fear. Your account will be closed, a payment will fail, someone is in trouble, you must act now.
• A request to move money, especially to a new or so-called safe account, or to buy gift cards or cryptocurrency.
• A request for codes, passwords or card details. A genuine bank will not ask you to read out a one-time passcode sent to your phone.
• Secrecy. Being told not to tell your bank or family, or that staff at the branch may be involved.
• An unexpected link to sign in, pay a small fee or confirm details.
• Caller ID or sender names that look right. These can be faked, so they are not proof of who is contacting you.

What to do instead

• Stop. Taking a moment to think is the single best defence. A genuine organisation will not mind you checking.
• Contact the organisation yourself using a number or website you already trust, such as the one on the back of your card or in its official app, not one given in the message.
• Check a family member's new number by calling the old one, or asking a question only they would know.
• Do not click links in unexpected texts. Go to the website or app directly instead.

In the UK

• Forward scam texts to 7726, a free reporting service supported by most UK mobile providers. To report a scam call, you can text 7726 with the word Call followed by the caller's number. Check your provider's guidance if you are unsure.
• Call 159 to reach many UK banks safely if you get a suspicious call claiming to be from your bank. Hang up first, and if possible use a different phone or wait a few minutes before calling.
• Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk, the reporting service run by the National Cyber Security Centre.
• Report fraud to Report Fraud, the national service run by City of London Police that replaced Action Fraud in December 2025, if you have lost money or been targeted.

If you have already responded

• Call your bank immediately using a trusted number if you shared card details or made a payment. Acting quickly gives the best chance of stopping or recovering money.
• Change passwords for any account you signed in to through a link, and turn on two-step verification.
• Watch for follow-up scams. People who have been scammed are often contacted again by someone offering to recover the money for a fee.
• Do not feel embarrassed. These scams are designed by professionals to catch busy, trusting people, and reporting helps protect others.

Protecting people around you

• Talk about scams openly with older relatives and teenagers alike.
• Agree a family rule that nobody sends money because of a message alone without a voice call.
• Use your phone's spam filtering and block numbers that send scams.