How to recognize fraud and stay safe?

bunq

Hey bunqers 🌈

As you know, bunq takes the security of your personal information very seriously 🔒 We’ve already shared some tips on how to keep you and your money safe here, but we thought it might help to provide some more tips to to help you recognize fraud.

Important Note: bunq would never contact you via phone or ask for your credentials, magic links or any personal information (phone number, email, security code, card number, IBAN, etc.) outside the bunq app.

What to do if you became a victim of fraud or you are suspecting fraud?

Check your bank account frequently, and always read your bankmail swiftly after receiving it. If you've been a victim of fraud, contact your bank immediately.
If you suspect fraud, please give а notice to your bank about your suspicions.
If you suspect a bunq user to be involved with fraud or scams, you can report it through the form here.
Fill out this form to report your incident and help us to fight fraud!
If you have a card payment on your bunq account that you don’t recognize or it was a result of fraud, you can easily follow the steps in-app explained here.

Phishing

Phishing is an attempt by fraudsters to obtain your personal information, such as passwords or security details. The fraudsters often disguise themselves as a trustworthy party by using fake websites that look just like legitimate websites. The general lay-out as well as the link are often almost exactly the same. These websites are very good at making you believe they are sending a genuine email from (for example) your bank or an online payment processor, when in fact it is fake.

If you receive an email or other messages that resemble bunq’s normal messages, in which you are asked to follow a link and log in, or share your login codes or other security information, please do not follow these instructions.

bunq will never ask for your login codes or security features either by phone (we don’t use phone calls as a way of communication), via e-mail, text message, WhatsApp or any form of social media.

If you don’t trust a website or are unsure, you can always use an external tool to double-check. Here’s a tip: If the website seems to be registered recently, this may be an indication that the website is fraudulent. For more information, check out the following topics we prepared for you for Phishing and Spoofing.

Old-fashioned phishing

This happens when you are entering your PIN in an ATM or at a payment station. Please make sure that no one is watching you and that you always cover your PIN while you are entering it. Afterward, store your passcode safely.

WhatsApp fraud (Impersonation Scam)

WhatsApp fraud is a form of fraud where someone pretends to be someone you know, and asks you to help them out with the payment of a bill through a Whatsapp message. Usually, the following characteristics apply:

The “person you know” has a new number and contacts you through Whatsapp; for example, they got their phone lost/stolen, changed their number, etc. but it will always be a situation of urgency
They ask you to help them out by paying a bill for them or just some other emergency reason for financial help;
Usually, they are in a rush, the bill needs to be paid quickly;
They cannot, or do not want to, communicate with you through any other means than Whatsapp.

If anyone asks you to transfer money, or to pay an existing bill for them, please always contact this person through other means of communication outside of Whatsapp. When you cannot reach this person, do not transfer any money. Scammers usually try to ‘play’ with your emotions and would pretend to be not only just acquaintances but also close family members.

How can you help stop this kind of fraud? If a link was provided by the scammer make sure to report the IBAN or the link to the police and the bank of the fraudster.

Fake payment requests

If you receive a payment request, always make sure to check the validity of the web page the link leads you to. Often fraudsters will use fake internet pages which look very similar to the normal payment environment of a bank, but the website is in fact a fake one. The information you enter in this payment request is directly visible to the fraudsters and might be used to access your bank account.

Never enter your information if you do not trust the payment link or the person that is sending you the payment request.

Marketplace fraud

There are many times where you will find the item you were looking for on second hand websites. This is great! Second hand items are cheaper and reusing products contributes to a greener world. Unfortunately, sometimes the person who promises to send you the product doesn’t deliver after you have paid.

How do you recognize these kinds of fraudsters? First, we’d like to emphasise that if something sounds too good to be true, it’s usually because it isn’t true. Always check the market value of the product you want to purchase. If the price of the offered product is too low, this can be a sign that there’s a fraudster at work.

Investment fraud (Boiler room)

Boiler room fraud is a scam where pushy salespeople trick people into investing in fake or risky companies. They often lie or overstate facts to make the investment look more appealing, risk-free and safe. Sometimes, they even make fake propaganda on social media platforms before calling the victim. After people invest, their money is usually taken away, and they hardly ever get the profits they were promised. To keep yourself safe, be careful with unexpected investment offers, do detailed research, and ask financial experts for advice before investing.

Don’t become a money mule!

If anyone reaches out to you to ask you for access to your bank account or to transfer some money through your bank account, never comply with this request, no matter how promising it sounds!

Here's an example: Someone reaches out to you through social media or friends and promises you an amount of money. They promise you this money if you transfer some funds for them, or if they can use your bank account for a few days. They will tell you there is no risk involved, and that it is really easy money.

It is highly likely that your bank account will be used for criminal activity, for which you will be held (criminally) liable. Consequences of this may be that you will not be able to open bank accounts, get a mortgage or obtain credit and that criminal proceedings may follow.

Again, please realize that if something sounds too good to be true, this usually is because it is not true.

For more information on money mules, please check out this website by the Dutch police.

Need to report a fraud incident to bunq?

Fill out this form to report your incident and help us to fight fraud!

What to do if you don’t trust a bunq.me link?

If you receive a bunq.me payment link and you suspect it's fraud, please use the report button to report the page to our compliance team. Our team will immediately take action against the account.