Calls from a “bank” or “police officer”: verify the caller independently
How to end a suspicious call, contact an organisation yourself and respond if you have already shared details or authorised an operation.
The caller knows your name, describes a suspicious transfer and demands urgent action to “protect your money”. A persuasive voice and a familiar number on the screen are not independent verification. Your first task is to stop the pace imposed by the caller. You do not need to prove that you have identified a scam.
End the call before checking
Say that you will contact the organisation yourself and hang up. Find the number in your banking app, on your card or on an official website you opened independently. Do not use a callback number supplied during the conversation. If you are upset, ask someone you trust to sit with you, without giving them secret codes.
Prepare your bank's official contact details and card-blocking instructions in advance. Keep that information separate from PIN codes. A familiar procedure is easier to follow under pressure than a stranger's directions.
Do not approve a stranger's request
Smart-ID warns users never to disclose their PINs. Do not approve a login or signature you did not initiate, and do not enter PIN2 to perform a supposed security check. Never install remote-control software at an unknown caller's instruction. A demand to move money into a “safe account” is a reason to end the conversation.
Not every identification process involving an organisation is fraudulent. EMTA, for example, describes identification when someone calls its official information line themselves. Your initiative, a verified channel and a clear purpose are the crucial distinctions.
If you have already acted
Contact your bank immediately through an official channel. Explain which details you disclosed, which operations you approved and when. Ask for instructions on restricting access and disputing a transaction. If you installed remote-access software, stop using it and tell the bank. Arrange further device checks with a trusted specialist.
Keep the messages, call time, payment details and transaction references. Contact the police through an official channel. Do not assume that reimbursement is automatic: the circumstances and the parties' actions matter.
Agree on a family rule
- An incoming call never creates a need for an immediate transfer.
- PINs are not read aloud or sent in messages.
- A verification call uses a number found independently.
- Ask for help immediately after a mistake, rather than waiting out of embarrassment.
If another person subsequently offers to recover the money for an advance fee, start a fresh independent check. A new voice does not make the original story trustworthy. Keep the evidence together so that the bank and police can understand what happened without you having to reconstruct it repeatedly.
Sources
Prepared 6 November 2026. The image is an AI-generated illustration.