At Currencies Direct we’re committed to helping you protect yourself against fraud.
We have internal measures in place to help keep your transfers secure and protect you from fraud, but there are important steps you need to take to defend yourself from external threats.
We rely on you to check that the person you’re paying is genuine and that the account details you’ve been given are correct. Fraud has become a big risk for everyone. Unfortunately, we can’t always recoup money that’s been sent to a criminal.
If you ever have any concerns about a transaction or communication, please contact us straight away.
There are many types of fraud, some of which are very sophisticated and difficult to spot. Here are some of the most common scams, along with signs to watch out for.
Pension fraud is when someone tries to trick you into sending them some or even all of your pension. Scammers will often pretend to provide investment opportunities, free pension reviews, or ways for you to exploit a ‘loophole’ to withdraw your pension early or free from tax.
Impersonation fraud is when a scammer pretends to be someone you trust, such as a friend or family member, a professional you’re working with, or a representative from a trusted organisation. They can use technology to make a phone number, email address or website seem legitimate.
Identity fraud is when someone collects enough information about you to steal your identity, which they then use to commit a crime. For example, they may take out a credit card in your name or order a passport pretending to be you and use it to travel without being traced.
Relationship fraud, also known as romance fraud, is when someone feigns romantic or intimate intentions to gain your trust. They use the closeness established to manipulate their target, perhaps to trick you out of money or steal your personal details and commit identity fraud.
Investment fraud, or an investment scam, is when a criminal tries to trick you into giving them money by pretending they’re offering a profitable investment opportunity.It’s often followed up with a secondary scam, in which fraudsters claim they can help a victim recover lost money.
Shopping fraud is when a criminal poses as a company or private individual to trick you into buying something that doesn’t exist. They may be after your money or other valuable information – such as your credit card details – which they can use in a future scam.
Bank imitation website scams are a type of impersonation fraud whereby scammers create fraudulent websites that mimic legitimate banking websites. Scammers often trick individuals by sending phishing emails or text messages that appear genuine and contain links to the imitation website.
AI fraud is when someone uses artificial intelligence to scam people out of money or private data. AI can be used to create convincing phishing emails or texts, with more advanced tools having the capability to clone voices and even create ‘deep fake’ images and videos.
If you ever have any concerns about a transaction or the security of your account, our team are always on hand to help. If you notice something suspicious or think you may have been a victim of fraud, please let us know as soon as possible by contacting us on +44 (0) 20 7847 9400 or [email protected].
Additionally, the following organisations can provide help and fraud advice:
An Authorised Push Payment Fraud, or APP fraud, happens when someone is tricked into sending money to an account which they do not control.
The Fraud Reimbursement Rules are new UK-wide rules which change the way that APP fraud is dealt with by UK financial services businesses and came into force on 7th October 2024. They may, depending on certain criteria, mean that you may be reimbursed for any APP fraud.
Firstly, if you think that you have been the victim of an APP fraud, you should contact us as soon as possible to notify us of a potential reimbursement claim under the Fraud Reimbursement Rules. Once we receive your claim, we will review it and if it is in scope, reimburse you within five business days – although it can take up to 35 business days if we need further information from you.
A £100 excess may apply. This means that if you make a claim of £1,000, you’ll get £900 back. You may not get any money back if your claim is under £100.
Please note, these rules apply to Faster Payments and CHAPS payments, and in GBP, only. They don’t apply to payments made in another currency or to payments made overseas, outside of the United Kingdom, or any payments made using cheque or card. There are certain other exceptions where we might not reimburse you, for example, where you may not have followed any fraud warnings that we have provided, or where you haven’t shown an appropriate level of caution.
We may need further information from you as part of your claim, and you will need to respond to these requests promptly. Once you’ve made a claim, we may ask you to report the details of the APP fraud to the police and provide any reference numbers that you have been given – you should do this to ensure that the police can investigate and take action.
If you wish to report a potentially fraudulent transaction, please contact us.
Read our latest articles on fraud protection, covering common scams along with red flags to watch out for and tips on keeping yourself safe.
You need a password for just about everything these days. When you’ve got so many logins to remember it’s easy to fall back on the same old memorable words and phrases.
But, as tempting as it is, using your birthday or pet’s name just won’t cut it if you want to keep your account secure.
Here are our top tips for creating super-secure passwords.
Use 12 characters minimum
There are no set parameters about the ideal password length, but 12-14 characters is generally a good rule of thumb.
Include a mixture of numbers, symbols, capital letters and lower case letters
Sites don’t ask for convoluted passwords to be tedious – a mixture of different character types makes your password harder to crack for fraudsters’ software.
Don’t get personal
In the age of information, your birthdate, place of birth and cat’s name are all too easy to find online. Passwords based on key personal information are far easier to work out than passwords based on seemingly random words or phrases.
But, even if personal stats play no part in your passwords, it’s important to have as much control as possible over what information is accessible online.
Check the privacy settings on social accounts, read privacy policies on websites you frequent (particularly if you have a profile of some sort on them) and think twice before taking part in online surveys and quizzes that ask for access to your social media profiles.
Make it a strong one
When it comes to creating a password think outside the box and use an unusual combination of words (replacing letters with special characters and numbers which aren’t like the original letter).
For example, bLuesWan37?? fits all these requirements and would take a computer 63,000 years to crack. Two random words will give you a pretty strong password, but three is even better. bLuesWan37??Guit@r would take 380 quadrillion years of computer cracking time!
Check your password strength
If in doubt about the strength of your password, run it through a secure, reputable online checker. It will tell you how long your password would take to crack, giving you the opportunity to try out different combinations until you’ve got the Fort Knox of passwords.
Use a variety of passwords
Creating these super secure passwords and having to remember confusing combinations makes it tempting to use one for multiple platforms – but in doing that you undo all the good of creating a secure password in the first place.
If a fraudster gets hold of a password for one account, they’ll be able to access many. Use a variety of passwords to guard against breaches and to minimise damage if one of your accounts is compromised.
Sharing is bad (when it comes to passwords)
Never, ever share your password with anyone. One of the issues with having complicated passwords is that people are tempted to write them down so they don’t forget them – resist that impulse and try to commit new passwords to memory.
You should also set a reminder to change your password frequently.
At Currencies Direct we will never ask for your password, and you shouldn’t share it with us even if it appears that we’ve asked you to.
If you have any concerns that your password is no longer secure, change it immediately.
Changing your password is simple, just follow this link.
Everyday web use could expose you to opportunistic fraudsters if you don’t take steps to protect yourself.
Here are some simple tips for keeping on top of computer, mobile and tablet security.
Keep your computer healthy
Make sure you have active anti-virus software, and that your software and applications are regularly updated (patches and updates often address security issues in programmes and applications).
The P-word
Make sure your home wi-fi is password-protected – and be sure to use our tips in the password security section to make it a strong one.
Forget me, forget me not
If you’re using a computer which isn’t yours don’t tick the ‘Remember me’ option, and make sure you log out once you’re finished.
Public safety announcement
When connecting to a public network (in a bar or café, for example), make sure it’s one you trust. We recommend not connecting to public access networks whenever possible as they’re often a target for cyber criminals. If you’re in any doubt when you’re out, it’s better to connect using mobile data than public wi-fi.
Additionally, if you’re logging in to secure sites in public check your surroundings thoroughly to make sure no one is looking over your shoulder.
Click bait
When generally browsing the web, be careful not to click on any suspicious looking links or pop-ups.
Typical fraudster tactics include offers of prizes, threats, urgency or even blackmail, with messages like ‘You’ve won £1000! Click here to claim’, ‘your computer is under attack! Click here...’, ‘do this or your account will be restricted…’, or ‘you’ve accessed illegal content, click here to avoid legal action…’
Select security information carefully
When setting ‘security information’ (like answers to security or forgotten password questions) always be aware that any information you’ve shared via social media (or other web resources) may well be accessible to hackers and fraudsters.
Where possible pick questions that only you are likely to know the answer to.
The genuine article
If you’re visiting our website always type the address directly into the search bar or select it from a web search, and make sure you’re checking for these signs of authenticity:
Sending funds securely
When making an overseas payment you should always have confidence in the legitimacy of the recipient of your funds.
Verify your recipient’s information and the reason for transfer, and never be rushed or pushed into moving funds if you aren’t 100% comfortable with the payment.
We like to talk currency, and we like to make sure our customers have access to all the insights they need to make an informed decision about their currency transfers.
This means we send several different types of email communications to our customers, from daily market updates, to transactional emails and product updates.
You’ve got mail
If you receive an email from Currencies Direct give it a proper scan and make sure you’re confident it’s been sent by us before clicking any of the links within the email.
If there’s anything unusual about the communication or if you have any concerns at all, check with us by contacting your account manager directly or emailing [email protected].
Things to look out for:
Finally, never ever click on email links or attachments unless you’re 100% sure the communication is from a trusted source.
If in doubt, check it out!
Nuisance phone calls or text messages are nothing new, but phone scams can often sound convincing, and fraudsters attempting to contact you over the phone can be persistent.
Never let the person at the end of the phone put you under pressure or make you feel forced into taking fast action, and follow these top tips to protect your phone and text security.
Before you answer a call
Most mobiles are good at highlighting spam calls, but fraudsters are also good at appearing genuine with caller IDs.
If you have any doubts about the number calling you put it through a search engine.
Alternatively, if you think a call is from us but you aren’t certain, check it against the number listed on the ‘Let’s talk’ section of our website.
Once you’ve picked up
No matter what, never give out your passwords or key security information over the phone. It doesn’t matter who the person on the end of the phone claims they are, if they ask for your password or ask you to type anything into your keypad hang up immediately.
Approach text messages with caution
We only send you SMS messages under specific circumstances – like your One Time Pin to activate your online account or notifications about rate alerts.
If you receive a text message asking you to reply with a password, to call an unfamiliar number, or to click on a link, ignore the message and contact your account manager or our customer services team for verification.
What to expect
Fraudsters prey on fear and clouding your judgement to get what they want. Some of the main tactics to be prepared for are:
While all the measures outlined in our online security section can help you protect your activities from fraud, our online service and app also have several inbuilt features for added protection.
Online service and app
App only
If you notice something suspicious or think you may have been a victim of fraud, please let us know as soon as possible by contacting us on +44 (0) 20 7847 9400 or [email protected].
We’re confident in the security systems we have in place but it’s vital that you stay vigilant too.
Our Fraud FAQs provide lots of useful information about protecting yourself from fraud, while our Help with fraud section has links to useful organisations.
Remember, an offer being too good to be true, being asked to send money out of the blue or being put under time pressure can all be warning signs. Never send a payment if you have any concerns and contact us immediately if you do – we’re here to help!
We can accept no responsibility for funds being sent to the wrong account based on the content of a fraudulent email, so always verify that any payment details sent or received by email are genuine, using a trusted source.
The red flags and warning signs to look out for can differ depending on the reason for your payment. Below are some of the main things to be wary of.
Instances of relationship fraud have increased enormously in recent years.
Be particularly careful about sending money to someone you’ve never met in person, especially if you made contact via a dating app. Are they now asking for help with medical fees, housing or travel costs? Are they genuine?
Also beware impersonation scams, where you’re asked to send money to a family member who’s in trouble. Always contact that relation independently to check that a fraudster hasn’t got hold of their phone or hacked their social media accounts.
Have you checked that the goods exist, and that the supplier is genuine?
Be wary if you’re asked to pay a deposit or a big fee up-front as this could be an advance fee scam. Where possible, always check online reviews and get an invoice before paying anything.
Have you met the supplier? Do they have a registered business address? Are the contact details given by the supplier vague (maybe just a PO Box and a mobile or premium number)? Always verify that the person or business you’re dealing with is legitimate before sending a payment.
Fraudsters can intercept payments and redirect money to their own accounts, often by sending out a false invoice or email featuring their own account details. Make sure that the account details you’re paying into are genuine and think about sending a small payment first to check that the money has gone to the right place. This type of fraud is a particular risk in the property and real estate sector.
If an investment sounds too good to be true (high returns and low risk), it could turn out to be a scam.
Be wary of dealing with any company that approaches you out of the blue and always check that the property or investment you’re buying exists.
Is the broker willing to supply his/her copy ID? Does the company promoting the investment have a registered business address? Are the contact details vague (maybe just a PO Box and a mobile or premium number?) What do the online reviews say?
Are you being put under pressure to buy? Always check the FCA Register to see if there are any warnings about the individual or company you’re dealing with and look at the FCA’s Warning List. Seek advice from an FCA regulated firm before going ahead.
Who else can help?
You can get additional help and advice on fraud from the following organisations:
Contact us as soon as possible on +44 (0) 20 7847 9400 or [email protected]. Our customer services team are on hand to help 24/7.
You can also report fraud to the police via Action Fraud using their on-line reporting tool or by calling 0300 123 2040.
If you’re not based in the UK, inform the police or anti-fraud authorities in your own country.
If you’ve lost your Currencies Direct card you can freeze it immediately and report it as lost/stolen in the Currencies Direct App.
These are some key actions you can take…
The above isn’t a full list but it gives you an idea of the type of questions you should be asking. You’ll find more on this in our Scams to watch out for section.
We’ve listed a range of red flags based on different transfer requirements in our Scams to watch out for section. It’s crucial that you take the time to check that your payment isn’t falling into the wrong hands.
If you ever notice anything out of the ordinary or have any security concerns, give us a call on +44 (0) 20 7847 9400 or email [email protected]