Meet the Faces of Fraud
Fraudsters can fake anyone or anything. To help you feel more prepared when these criminals come calling, we’ve created a series of tutorials that teaches you the tricks they use to steal your money.
Helping you stay safe online
Get to know them. Learn their tricks.
Fraudsters are always finding new ways to manipulate you. And take your money. So who better to reveal their secrets, than the fraudsters themselves?
We used a ground-breaking AI that predicts a fraudster’s face based on their actual voice recording. The AI analysed the fraudster’s unique voice pattern and generated their portrait. These Faces of Fraud were then brought to life using digital reconstructions, so they could teach us their tricks.
How do fraudsters operate?
Fraudsters exploit human nature - behaviours that come naturally to us. Key to this is the manipulation of trust - gaining a target's trust and getting them to disclose information that should be kept secure
Romance
Dating sites have become a popular place for fraudsters to lurk. Their goal is to bond with you emotionally so you’re more willing to send them money and listen to your heart, rather than your head.
Investment
There are many types of investment platforms online and all of these can fall prey to fraudsters. They lure you in with pretend financial products and easy gains to give you false confidence. But suddenly your portfolio vanishes, leaving you with nothing.
Purchase
As online payments increase, fraudsters are responding by creating authentic looking websites to catch unsuspecting buyers. These criminals are masters at making a fake purchase look genuine.
Impersonation
Fraudsters have become so sophisticated they can convince you they’re working for your bank’s fraud team. With clever reassurances, they can make you hand over your money to them under the guise of making your account ‘safer’.
Common fraud methods
Phishing
Phishing involves fraudsters sending an unsolicited e-mail that appears to be from your bank or an online retailer requesting you to update your personal and financial information such as date of birth, online login information, account details, credit card numbers, PINs etc.
The e-mail may contain a link that takes you to a website that looks identical (or very similar) to the organisation's genuine site. Fraudsters can then capture personal data like passwords as you type it in or download malware onto your computer.
Smishing (SMS Phishing)
Smishing involves text messages sent by fraudsters that look like they have come from your bank to trick you into giving over your personal and financial information (by calling a number or clicking a link). Fraudsters also use 'text spoofing' to deliberately falsify the telephone number to appear as 'HSBC' to seem like a genuine bank sms.
Vishing
Fraudsters call out of the blue claiming that a fraud has already happened, or may be imminent. They may already have some information about you, and may pose as bank staff, the police and other officials or companies in a position of trust. The fraudster will then try to persuade you to:
- Transfer money to another account for 'safekeeping' or 'holding'
- Withdraw cash and hand it over 'for investigation'
- Divulge private information, which can then be used to gain access to your finances
Fraud awareness
Fraudsters often claim to be from organisations you know, like the government, police, banks, utilities or even charities, asking for your personal information. They may even try to rush you, claiming it’s a prize or an emergency.
But, if you’re ever asked to share your account details or move money, stop and think. Never share your banking details, personal information or transaction details with anyone. And avoid clicking on links or opening attachments from unknown sources, as it could allow fraudsters to access your device and steal log on details.
SIM Swap
SIM Swap Fraud is when a fraudster duplicates the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorization. This allows the fraudster to receive all your calls and text messages, obtain personal details and then conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Redirection of Funds
Redirection of Funds is when an individual receives a payment request via email that appears genuine but is in fact fraudulent.
The email and phone numbers mentioned in these videos are just examples. If you think an email or text message isn't genuine, or if you think you've been a victim of a phishing, smishing or vishing scam, please contact hbmeinternetabuse@hsbc.com. Or call us on the number on the back of your debit or credit card.
Be vigilant - warning signs to look out for
- Be wary of unsolicited approaches by phone, especially if you are asked to provide personal information
- Beware of unsolicited e-mails or SMS messages asking you to update or verify your personal details, Personal Internet Banking login or security details such as Secure Key passwords/values or Credit Card Debit Card PINs. HSBC will never request this type of information
- Beware of instructions to reply, complete a form or document attached to the email or click, through to a website in order to verify your account
- Links within emails or SMS from HSBC will never take you directly to our login page and will always take you to information pages
How to protect yourself
- Don't open attachments or click on links if you suspect they may not be genuine
- Never share your security details such as PIN or passwords with anyone
- Install anti-virus software and keep it up-to-date to protect you against viruses such a malware, trojans, spyware and adware
- Keep your browser up-to-date as modern browser software adds protection against fake websites
- Keep your software up-to-date as it's harder for viruses to infect updated software
