One of the hardest parts of a bank impersonation call is that the caller appears to be genuine. The number on the phone screen may match the number on the back of a bank card, and the caller may already know some account details. In the UK, a three-digit number was created to break that trap: 159. This guide explains what Stop Scams UK, a number of banks and a UK trading standards alert say about how it works. It applies to UK bank accounts and is general information, not financial advice.
What 159 is
Stop Scams UK describes 159 as a service intended for consumers, providing an easy route back to safety when they receive an unexpected phone call about a financial matter. It works in a similar way to 101 for the police or 111 for the NHS: a short, memorable number that leads to the right organisation. The service is run as a collaboration in which telecommunications companies provide the consumer-facing phone service, banks handle the incoming calls and technology companies donate advertising space for awareness. Stop Scams UK says the number connects customers of more than 99% of the UK’s retail bank current accounts directly with their bank, and that more than one million calls have been made since it began.
Why it is trusted
Two features matter. First, Stop Scams UK says the short code cannot be spoofed or impersonated, unlike a longer phone number that a criminal can make appear on a caller display. Second, 159 will never call you. Starling Bank warns that fraudsters use number spoofing to match bank numbers on a caller display, so it advises dialling 159 yourself rather than trusting a number shown on the phone. Metro Bank puts it more bluntly: only a fraudster will object to you calling 159. If a call appears to come from 159 itself, it is not genuine.
The four steps
Stop Scams UK sets out a simple sequence for anyone who thinks someone is trying to trick them into handing over money or personal details:
- Stop the conversation.
- Hang up the call.
- Dial 159.
- Speak directly with your bank.
Starling advises calling if someone claims to be from your bank, if an authority figure asks you to move money, or if you feel uneasy about a request or pressure to pay. Once connected, staff can confirm whether the earlier contact was genuine. Starling adds that if 159 does not work, the number on the back of your card should be used. Our guide to impersonation scams explains the tactics the number is meant to defeat, and our guide to spoofed numbers covers why a caller display cannot be trusted.
Which banks and networks take part
Stop Scams UK lists more than twenty participating banks, building societies and payment firms, among them Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander and Starling, and says the telephone providers include BT (including EE and Plusnet), O2 (including giffgaff), Sky, Three, Vodafone, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Gamma. Lists change over time, so the current list on the Stop Scams UK website is the place to check whether a particular bank takes part. The service is typically charged as a national-rate call, and the cost varies by provider.
What 159 does not do
The number is for reaching your own bank quickly and safely; Stop Scams UK describes it as a route back to safety after an unexpected call about a financial matter. Metro Bank notes that genuine banks will never request PINs, security codes or transfers to a “safe account”, and will never ask a customer to lie or to grant remote access to a computer. Anyone who has already paid should contact their bank straight away and report the incident to the police, as Starling advises. A trading standards alert published by the London Borough of Bromley on 17 January 2024 lists 159 as the number to call to contact your bank; see our guide to reporting a scam for the reporting routes.
Frequently asked questions
Will 159 ever ring me? No. Stop Scams UK says 159 will never call you, so any caller claiming to be 159 is not genuine.
Should I trust the number on my phone display? No. Starling warns that spoofing can make a bank’s real number appear, which is why it advises dialling 159 yourself.
Does it work for every bank? Stop Scams UK says it connects customers of more than 99% of the UK’s retail current accounts, but the current participants are listed on its website.
The bottom line
When a caller claims to be from a bank, the safest response is to end the call and dial 159 rather than trust anything shown on the screen or said by the caller. The number connects to the real bank, cannot be spoofed and will never ring you, but it is a route to your bank, and the police should still be told about a scam that has caused a loss.