Criminals sending fake bank letters to Lloyds customers - 14 December 2016

The UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre, ActionFraud, has warned that Lloyds customers should be on the lookout for a new sophisticated fraud involving fake bank letters.

According to ActionFraud, the convincing letters being sent are a replica template from Lloyds and include their logo, address and signature from a customer service representative.

The letter reportedly tells recipients that there have been some “unusual transactions” on their personal account and asks them to call a number highlighted in bold to confirm they are genuine.

When victims call the number, an automated welcome message is played and the caller is asked to enter their card number, account number and sort code followed by their date of birth. Victims are then instructed to enter the first and last digit of their security number.

The fraud was spotted by the Daily Telegraph, which was alerted to it by a reader who had three identical letters sent to an office address. On separate occasions, the Daily Telegraph ran some tests using fake details and were passed to fraudsters who claimed to be from a Lloyds contact centre. The bank has confirmed that the phone number and letters are fake.

The letters are essentially a sophisticated phishing attempt and serve as a warning to consumers to question written correspondence from their banks.

ActionFraud advises that if you are ever suspicious about correspondence from your bank, you should call the customer serviced number on the back of their card.

To report a fraud and cyber crime, call ActionFraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit their website.