Detectives from the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) Economic Crime Unit (ECU) are re-issuing a telephone scam warning published in July of this year, following reports received of scammers targeting members of the public by telephone in recent days, claiming to be National Westminster (Natwest) Bank employees. No financial losses have been reported so far.

In an attempt to secure a victim’s personal banking details, the caller(s) usually state that fraudulent activity has been observed within a customer’s bank account, asking the potential victim to log into their on-line banking and confirm the customer’s One Time Password (OTP) to the caller.

The recent reports all suggest that scammers are adopting the practice known as “Caller ID spoofing,” whereby a scammer conceals their true number ID, displaying a different one to mislead potential victims into believing that a call is originating from a trusted organisation. This is just one of various tactics adopted by scammers, and on this occasion, the calls displayed the originating number as +350 20047781.

A spokesperson for the RGP’s Economic Crime Unit stated: “You should never disclose any sensitive personal or financial details over the phone, particularly your PIN number, Username/Password, or your One Time Password (OTP) when logging into your online bank account. Banks already hold this type of information, so they will never contact you asking for this specific information if you are an existing customer.”

The RGP would also like to encourage everyone in the community to continue sharing fraud warnings and advice as widely as possible within the community, especially with senior family members and others who might be at particular risk:

1. If you are suspicious about the identity of a person contacting you by telephone, ask questions of them;
2. Be mindful of information provided to you by a caller over the phone, as professional scammers can be very persuasive;
3. If a caller avoids answering reasonable questions and/or refuses to provide you information, terminate the call;
4. Never provide your PIN, account password, personal or other banking details to anyone who contacts you by telephone;
5. Never grant a caller remote access to devices such as your computer, laptop or mobile phone;
6. Don’t let scammers pressure you – scammers often create a high-pressure situation to force you into making quick decisions;
7. When in doubt, hang up and contact your bank by either visiting your bank in person or calling them using trusted contact details, such as those found on the rear of your bank card or other official correspondence you may already be in possession of.

If you believe you may have fallen victim to this type of crime, contact your bank immediately and then report the matter to police, even if you have not suffered financial loss.