Staying safe
The call from the fake bank advisor
What you will be able to do In 5 minutes, you will know how to recognize a call from a fake bank advisor, and what to do about it.
The phone rings. A calm voice introduces itself as your bank, sometimes even with the right number showing on screen. It talks about a suspicious transaction to block urgently, and asks for a code, or a confirmation on your app. This number that looks right has a name: it is spoofing, a technique that makes a fake number appear as if it were the real one. We will take one of these calls apart together, on a screen we have drawn. Nothing here is real, so nothing can happen to you.
Simulated screen
I practice
This screen was drawn by us. Nothing is sent, nothing is installed, and no real brand is shown.
The situationThe phone rings, a familiar number shows up: maybe your bank, maybe not.
The interactive exercise needs JavaScript. The written step by step, just below, says exactly the same thing.
The written step by step
The same steps, in words, to read or print. This sheet works even without the exercise.
A display that proves nothing
Your turn A call comes in, a familiar name shows up. Tap what is shown on screen.
The name "My bank" and the number shown on screen can be faked by the scammer: this is spoofing, and it should be looked at first, without trusting it.
The line to never accept
Your turn The voice is talking. Tap the line that is really a request you should never accept.
The line "confirm the code you are receiving by text message" is the real request behind the trap: this code is never given, to anyone.
Reacting, right away
Your turn Tap what you do, right now.
We hang up, without giving any code and without confirming anything on the app while the person is on the line.
Checking through your own door
Your turn You have hung up. Tap the safe way to check.
We dial ourselves the number known for a long time: the one on the back of the bank card, or the one shown in the app, never the number from the call received.
If it went further
Your turn A transaction may have gone through during the call. Tap the right reflex.
We block the card without delay through the bank, by phone or in the app. This is the step that stops everything else.
The sheet to keep
- A number or name shown on screen proves nothing: it can be copied or faked, this is called spoofing.
- No serious advisor asks for a code received by text message, or for a transaction to be confirmed during the call.
- Picking up costs nothing. The danger is not in answering, it is in giving or confirming something.
- You hang up, then call your bank back using the number you already know, never the number from the call received.
- A transaction you did not really authorize yourself is normally refunded: contact your bank without waiting.
- If in doubt, cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, the French national cybersecurity assistance scheme, offers a free diagnosis and points you toward the next steps.
The reflexes in this skill
I look at WHO is speaking
A displayed name is just text, so it can be copied. What matters is the exact address of the sender, or their phone number. A delivery announced from an unknown mobile number is not a delivery.
A code I receive is never given to anyone
A one time code received by text message proves that it is really you. No advisor, no delivery driver, no service will ever ask for it. Giving it away opens the door in your place.
I go through the official door
The address typed in by hand, the app installed from the official store, the phone number printed on the back of your card. Never the link someone hands you, even when it looks right.
No one serious ever rushes me
No threats, no countdown, no secret to keep. And asking for help is a reflex, not a failure: saying it out loud to someone makes most scams fall apart.
Two questions to check
Nothing is graded, and nothing is saved anywhere except in your own browser.
The number shown on screen really is your bank's. What can you conclude from that?
See the answer
That it proves nothing: a displayed number can be faked
A number or name shown on screen can be copied by a scammer, this is called spoofing. Only checking through your own means, by calling back yourself, has real value.
During the call, you are asked to confirm a transaction on your banking app. What do you do?
See the answer
I hang up and check myself, through my own means
Confirming a transaction while someone guides you on the phone amounts to authorizing it yourself, under the pressure of the call. You hang up, then check through your own means.
I've done it
Check this box once you can do this skill on your own.
Your progress stays in your own browser.