Anti-Fraud Guide: What’s phishing and how to recognize it?

bunq

Hey bunqers 🌈

Social engineering scams, like phishing, have become more advanced in recent years. Here’s how to recognize and avoid this type of fraud to keep your account safe:

Important Note: Be cautious with your personal data. Never share it with third parties.

❗️Note: bunq will NEVER call you to ask for personal information, like email, security code, card details, etc. Remember that private information (for example, your phone number, email, Security Code, card number, IBAN, etc.) is only shared through our secure chat in the app. If you’re receiving a phone call from a person claiming to be a bunq representative, hang up the phone and report this case to us.

What's phishing?

Phishing is a type of fraud where scammers impersonate trusted companies through emails, texts, social media, phone calls, and more. Their goal is to trick you into sharing personal details like passwords, account information, and card numbers to access your funds.

Need to report phishing?

Fill out our phishing form to help us fight fraud!

I’ve lost access to my bunq account, what do I do?

If you can’t regain access by resetting your Security Code, contact our automated emergency Support line at +31208083666. Through our automated flow, you can block your card and account within 1 minute, keeping your funds safe until you regain access.

If you think your account was hacked, please eport it as soon as possible by filling out this form.

How can i avoid being phished?

Never give away your login credentials or personal information
- bunq will never ask for your login or personal details outside of the app. If someone pretending to be bunq asks for this information, it’s a scam—don’t share anything.
Check the format and spelling in messages
- Fraudsters often copy legitimate company formats, but their messages may contain spelling mistakes.
Watch out for fake websites
- The only bunq website for logging in is https://web.bunq.com/. Always ensure you're on this site when entering sensitive information.
Contact us via our official channels
- If you receive an email from bunq but it seems off, contact us to verify its authenticity. You can do so via the secure in-app chat or our web report forms. This also helps us spot new scams and fight fraud.
Be careful with your posts on social media
- Avoid sharing personal info like your date of birth, vacation plans, or phone number online, as scammers may use this against you.
Check the URLs of the links you click on
- Always verify the URL, especially in hyperlinked text, to ensure it's from a legitimate website. If you're not sure whether a link is secure, go to the official website from a seacrh engine and get to the needed web page yourself.

How can i recognize a phishing attempt?

Phishing can take many forms. Fraudsters may email, text, or even call you, pretending to be bunq, to trick you into sharing personal details that give them access to your account. They often create a sense of urgency, such as claiming an unrecognized device, changes to your personal details, or issues with your account that require verification. They provide a link, and once you click it and enter your details (username, password, IBAN, etc.), they gain access to your account.

You may also receive messages asking you to pay a "fee" but requesting your credentials to proceed.

Our official domain is bunq.com. Any link that is different from https://www.bunq.com/ or https://together.bunq.com/ is fraudulent. If you see a URL like bunq.xxx.com, a.id/abcd-bunq, or abcd.buzz/bunq, it's fake.

If you encounter such links, please report them using our Phishing report form.

Here are examples of what a fake email messages, SMS or website look like:

Important: Fraudsters can use online tools to fake our name in the sender field of SMS/texts, which means fraudulent messages might appear in the same thread as legitimate ones you've received from us.

Don’t block our number even if you receive a phishing SMS from it. Blocking it will prevent us from sending you important messages that help you complete your verification or manage other matters through the app.

What will happen after I report phishing?

Our dedicated team will be made aware of your report and will take immediate actions to take down the phishing websites, links or accounts.

What if I'm a victim of phishing?

If you’ve fallen victim to phishing or fraud, take immediate action. Please follow the steps here to secure your account and report the fraud to us using one of our web report forms. This will help us start working on a solution for you.

How to keep your bunq account extra secure?

There are many ways to keep your account secure, and most of them rely on your vigilance and care with personal information.

Here are a few steps you can take regularly:

Change your Security Code: Go to Security to change your Security Code, which will end all active sessions and prevent unauthorized access.
Check Devices: Go to Security and tap on ""Devices"". Delete any device you don’t recognize.
Check your email and phone number: Go to Profile, then tap on “Personal Information”. Remove any unrecognized phone numbers or email addresses.

Additionally, we offer some great features to help secure your account even further:

Automatically logout when closing the bunq app: You can adjust your Auto Logout to ensure that you're always logged out as soon as you leave the bunq app. To do so, follow the steps below:
Go to 👤 Profile
Tap on ⚙️ Setting in the top right corner
Tap on Security
Tap on Auto Logout
Tap on Stay logged in for
Choose 0 seconds
Rotating CVC: You can set your CVC to be automatically generated for extra security. To do so, follow the steps below:
Go to 🏠 Home
Select the card
Tap on CVC
Select Automatically regenerate

Received an e-mail and not sure if it's phishing?

If you’ve received an email and aren’t sure if it’s phishing, check the domains we use to communicate with you:

@bunq.com – Our primary domain for transactional emails.
@update.bunq.com – Used for bunq Update invites and general announcements.
@hello.bunq.com – Used for marketing communications.
review@bunq.com – Used when we need extensive information or additional documents from you.