Know what your bank will never ask
Understand why the app is safer than the website, and hold a short list of things that prove a caller is not your bank.
People comfortable with online banking on a computer are often uneasy about the app on the phone. It is the wrong way round.
Key points
- The app cannot be redirected to a lookalike, and it is locked to your device
- A code is for typing into a screen — never for reading aloud
- “Move your money to a safe account” is never a real instruction
- A name that does not match means stop, and telephone on a number you already had
What to remember
- This is why a code is never read aloud. Spoken to a caller, it turns their correct password into a way in.
- Nothing at either bank checks the name against the account. On a large payment, you are the check.
- Real banks send you toward other numbers. Fraud steers you away from them.
Try this
Open your banking app, turn on alerts for every payment, and save the number on the back of your card in your contacts as Bank — safe number.
Practice: Know what your bank will never ask. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.