Who are Stop Scams UK?
Stop Scams UK is a membership organisation which brings together businesses from the three sectors most affected by scams – financial services, technology and telecoms, forming a united front to prevent people from being scammed.
The non-profit works with many of the biggest consumer facing brands in the United Kingdom, including, Barclays, Nationwide, NatWest, Lloyds Banking Group, Amazon, Google, Meta, and telecoms firms including BT and Three.
Stop Scams UK is supporting the 成人快手 Scam Safe campaign, which aims to help viewers fight back against fraudsters. Mark Tierney, CEO of Stop Scams UK, describes the mission: “Scams affect us all, inflicting serious harm and distress on consumers, as well as eroding trust in businesses. We need industry from across sectors to come together to share intelligence and resources both here and abroad if we are going to close the loopholes that fraudsters take advantage of.”
What is 159?
159 is an easy to remember phone service from Stop Scams UK. When a consumer receives an unexpected or suspicious call about a financial matter, they can stop, hang up and call 159 which connects them safely and securely with their bank. Over 700,000 calls have been made to 159 since it was launched three years ago, and the line now receives over 1000 calls a day.
159: How it works...
If someone calls you claiming to be from your bank, or asking for personal financial information, here is what you can do:
- Don’t be rushed into doing anything. Stop the conversation. Hang up. Just by putting the phone down, you could be stopping a potential scam.
- Wait a few seconds. Then call 159.
- You will hear a recorded message asking you to state the name of your bank. You will be taken straight through to your chosen destination. Your bank will ask you the usual security questions and make sure your call is directed to the best department to help you.
- You can check with them if what you heard is true: for instance, a scammer pretending to be from the fraud department might tell you they have seen some unusual transactions on your account.
- Your bank will update you and tell you what to do to keep yourself safe.
Ruth Evans, Chair of Stop Scams UK, said:
“If you get a call that seems off, stop, hang up, and dial 159. It’s a safe and direct way to connect with your bank when you’re most at risk of being scammed. It’s simple, easy to remember, and can’t be faked so remember, 159 will never call you.
“Stop Scams UK brings together the industries who can do something about scams. 159 is a great example of those businesses working together we can get ahead of cowardly scammers.
You can find more information on Stop Scams UK and the 159 service