Massive rise in problems but personal finance expert said it can be solved by dialling right number
Martin Lewis has given a 3-digit number that any customer of UK of the key UK banks need to know. Anyone who uses Barclays, Lloyds, Halifax, Santander, Nationwide and other banks will need to know how to check for sure if they’re speaking to a legitimate company.
Cases of fraud in the UK have surged with criminals using AI to manipulate people and even marrying victims of romance scams to steal more money. More than four million cases in which money was lost were reported last year – the equivalent of nearly eight on average every minute, according to new figures.
The total has increased by more than one million in two years, with almost £1.3bn stolen by scammers in 2025, according to an annual report by UK Finance. Banks said fraud posed “a national security threat” given the impact on victims and the huge sums stolen by organised criminals.
Mr Lewis, a personal finance expert, said people can be conned into thinking they’re speaking to their bank – and end up divulging key information which leads to their accounts being emptied and massive debts run up. But he said there was one thing people can do to make sure they are in fact on the phone to their legitimate bank – and that’s by calling 159.
In a new video on TikTok he said: “There are three numbers you need to remember to protect yourself from scams. 159. If you dial 159 on your phone, you’ll be put through to a switchboard. It’ll ask you which bank you want to talk to. You tell it and you will be put through to your bank’s legitimate number.
“Do spread the word because there are two reasons this protects you. The first is if you get a suspicious call from someone saying it’s your bank, you can politely say to them, “You know what? I want to call through the official routes. Put the phone down and dial 159. You don’t need to look anything up.
“The second reason, there are rare times when the scammer will spoof your line. So, if you put the phone down and call back your bank and it would say, “Hello, it’s Martin’s Bank here.” And you say, “Okay, I’m through.” No. If you dial 159 and it says, “Hello, it’s Martin’s Bank.” You know it’s wrong because you should been put through to the switchboard. Protect yourself and remember 159.”
Fraudsters also use fake profiles on social media and dating sites to meet, groom and ultimately steal from victims who believe they are in a loving relationship.
UK Finance said examples even included a fraudster marrying a victim to continue stealing money. “The impact goes beyond financial loss; it can cause huge emotional harm, leaving victims burdened by guilt and shame, which is why we must tackle the problem at its source to protect consumers,” said Paul Davis, head of economic crime at Barclays. Experts believe the majority of scams are unreported, so do not even register in the statistics.
Authorised push payment (APP) fraud losses have fallen by an estimated £73 million annually, according to a review into the impact of rules requiring banks to reimburse victims. APP fraud happens when people are tricked into transferring money to criminals for a variety of reasons, such as impersonation fraud, purchase scams, romance scams and investment scams.
In October 2024, mandatory APP fraud reimbursement rules came into force. The rules mean banks must reimburse APP fraud victims, unless the customer has been grossly negligent.
The protections apply when a transfer is made to and from a UK bank account and a reimbursement limit of £85,000 has been applied under the rules, although banks can choose to go further than this and repay higher amounts.
UK Finance said there can be long lags between the victim realising they have been defrauded and reporting it to their payment service provider (PSP), such as with romance and investment scams, which UK Finance’s 2026 fraud report said are increasing significantly.
On average, victims of romance scams can make around 10 payments before they realise they have been a victim of fraud, UK Finance said.
Ruth Ray, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, said: “Fraud operates on an industrial scale, causing serious harm to consumers and businesses. For certain scams, particularly investment and romance fraud, victims may only realise they have been deceived a long time after the transaction has taken place.
“Transaction-date data alone will therefore give an incomplete picture of fraud. Only the banking sector reimburses victims, but this is not stopping fraud and it’s clear the underlying problem is still not being tackled effectively.”
If you have been subject to a fraud or attempted fraud:
- report it online at Action Fraud or by calling 0300 123 2040
- in Scotland, report it to Police Scotland by calling 101
- contact your bank immediately if you have sent money or had money stolen
If you see something suspicious:
- for emails, forward to [email protected]
- for texts, forward to 7726, free of charge
- for calls, text CALL followed by the suspicious number to 7726
- for websites, report your concern to the NCSC
More information on where to report frauds or suspected frauds is available.
