If the text is from a sender you know, or from a shortcode (five to eight digits long):

• Reply ‘STOP’. You shouldn’t be charged for this, and it will let the sender know you don’t want to receive their text messages.
• If you’re unhappy about receiving the text or continue to receive them after asking the sender to stop, you can complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) on 0303 123 1113 or online.

If the spoof text message (sometimes known as smishing) is from an unknown sender, or from an organisation you’re not familiar with:

• Do not reply or click on a link in the text. Responding confirms your number is active and could result in you receiving more messages or calls.
• Report the spam text to your network operator. Simply forward the text to 7726. An easy way to remember ‘7726’ is that they’re the numbers on your phone keypad that spell out the word ‘SPAM’. You may get an automated response thanking you for the report and giving you further instructions if needed, like forwarding on the number the spam text message was sent from. You won’t be charged for forwarding spam texts to 7726.
  

Fraudsters try getting money from organisations by sending fake emails and texts to gain access to their internet banking details. It can be difficult to spot a fraudulent email, but there are things you can check for clues it’s a fraudulent email.

• Check the sender email address
  Always check the sender’s email address to make sure it’s from the person you think. Fraudsters can change the ‘From’ name so it can look like it’s come from your bank, or a person’s name. If you hover over the name, the sender’s email address should be displayed. If it’s a company email address, an online search of the email address will often tell you if it’s a genuine address.
• Call the sender
  If you get an unusual request from someone you know, asking you to transfer money or download something onto your computer, and the email address looks genuine, there’s a possibility their email account was hacked. To be safe, it’s best to call them to make sure they sent the email and really made the request.
• Look for spelling mistakes
  Scam emails can often look odd, with a messy layout and spelling mistakes.

Common email and text scams to look out for:

• CEO fraud
  Fraudsters email employees pretending to be the owner or CEO of the organisation, asking them to make a payment or transfer.
• Supplier fraud
  Fraudsters pretend to be your supplier letting you know their payment details have changed.
• Invoice fraud
  Fraudsters send fake invoices claiming to be from a real business you work with. Sometimes they hack the emails of your supplier to send the invoice, so the email address is genuine, but the payment details are changed to those owned by the fraudster. It’s sensible to call your suppliers on the number on their website to verify their payment details before you pay new account details for the first time.
• Pretending to be a business
  In these messages, texts or emails, you might be asked to click a link that takes you to a fake website – for example, the website might claim to be the Triodos Bank website (See ‘How to check that a website is genuine’). On this site you could be asked to give your internet banking details. We will never send you a link to the login pages of internet banking.
• Spyware in links
  Some scam emails ask you to download something onto your computer or network – this could be a link to a website or an attachment. This tool could spy on your computer or lock you out until you pay a ransom or reveal your bank security details.
• Smishing (fraudulent text messages)
  These are text messages that appear to be from well-known businesses, claiming you need to click the link to update your details. Often the links are disguised with short links – like bitly links, e.g. https://bit.ly/2kwosxu. Tempting as it is to use the link, contact the company using the details on their website to verify that they sent the text, and that it’s safe to click on the link. Fraudsters will impersonate these companies to obtain your valuable information.
  

On the home page you will see a list of all the accounts that you currently manage online. Details of closed accounts are displayed in red. Clicking on one will take you directly to the transaction history for that account.

A security word is a word chosen by you to help us verify your identity when you phone us or at any other time when we need to validate that it is you asking us for information or to do something on your account(s) . The security word is a memorable word chosen by you and can be anything you want. You will have provided this either as part of an online or paper application, on a form you’ve sent us by post or you may have set or changed it when you were logged into your internet banking. For example it could be a memorable name or place or something that means something to you. For additional security we do not provide any guidance on what this word should be.  

If you lose your connection after authorising a normal payment it will still be processed as normal - use the transaction history option to check the status of your payments. If the payment is not shown on one of these pages then it is still awaiting authorisation. If you lose your connection before authorisation they try logging back in and check the status of your payments. If you are unsure then please call the helpdesk. If you lose your connection after making an international payment, faster payment or urgent payment, please contact the helpdesk (call on 0330 355 0355 or alternatively you can email: internetbanking@triodos.co.uk) who will confirm if the payment has been successfully authorised or not.

When you input the sort code and account number to make a payment, we will check that the details are valid and that the sort code will accept the type of payment you are trying to make. If we can identify that the sort code or account number are invalid you will receive an error message on the screen.

Please review the account details you have entered. You may wish to contact the payee to confirm their account details.

We’ve created this online resource to help you protect your business from fraud.

Share it with your team and regularly review it to help you protect what’s important to you.

We recommend that you:

• Review who can authorise payments and how much
  Review your internet banking payment limits and authorisation in your internet banking or by calling us. Confirm how many people have a Digipass and access to your internet banking. A Digipass should never be shared - please request a Digipass for every individual who requires access to internet banking. What levels of authorisation do payments need? Decide if you want two people to authorise a payment over a certain amount to ensure each payment is double checked. We can set this up to suit your needs.
• Create a training schedule
  Regularly educate your employees about fraud risks to help them spot and handle fraud. You can share resources like our how-to guides, and signpost them to websites like Action Fraud UK. In-house training could include regular emails about fraud, test emails to practise how to spot a fraudulent email and how to respond, and yearly refresher workshops. The training is not about scaring your employees, but helping them feel in control when they suspect fraud, and confident in how to respond.
• Introduce a payment process
  Create a process document that outlines all the steps that should be taken to authorise a payment, including checking the authenticity of the payment request and payment details.
  
• Introduce a fraud policy
  Make a policy that clearly outlines how employees can use their work devices, and ensure they understand it and follow it carefully. Your employees should never download apps, software or programmes onto their work devices or click on links in suspicious emails or messages. They should also be sensitive about what they share on social media and what they email to their personal email addresses from their work account.
  
• Install anti-fraud software
  There’s plenty of software you can use to help you assess risks and detect fraud, including alerts for risky activity on a corporate device. Having up-to-date anti-fraud software reduces the risk of cyber attack, malware, ransomware, data breaches and ultimately losing the business money.

You can also find in-house training at:

• Gov.uk
  
• National Business Crime Centre
  
• The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA)
  

No-one wants to imagine that one of their employees would commit fraud, but sometimes this happens. There are a few things you can do to protect your organisation:

• Never share your Digipass or PIN
  Digipasses are unique to each account operator, so if you allow someone else to use your Digipass it will be recorded as a payment authorised by you. If you have new staff or need to change an account operator, download the Business Banking change of account operator form and post it to Freepost TRIODOS BANK. We can set up each new staff member with their own Digipass and internet banking access. If you remove an account operator, please send the Digipass back to us.
  
• Employee checks
  Review your recruitment procedures and ensure you’ve got appropriate checks and references in place for candidates hoping to join your organisation, such as criminal record checks and references from previous employers. See the ACAS website for advice.
  
• Be aware of who has access to sensitive information
  Regularly check who can access important data and systems, such as customer or membership data, or financial information. When employees leave your organisation their access should be stopped. Access should only be given to employees who really need access to these systems or data.
• Create a whistleblowing policy
  This can support your employees to anonymously report suspicious activity they see in the organisation. Promote the policy so all staff feel confident and safe in reporting suspicious activity. For more advice on whistleblowing, see the gov.uk website.
  

It can be very difficult to spot a fraudulent call. The best thing you can do if you get an unexpected call – especially if the person is asking you to make a payment or move funds, or rushing you to make a decision – is to call the organisation back on the number published on their website.

Fraudsters may call you or someone in your team and pretend to be a well-known business like BT, the bank, HMRC, the police, a supplier or even another person in your business.

Examples of what a fraudster might ask you to do:

• Move your money to a safe, secure holding account
  Fraudsters often call businesses pretending to be from their bank. They may ask you to move your money to a safe account because of suspected fraud or risk to your account. In reality, this ‘safe’ account is controlled by the fraudster. Hang up and report it to Action Fraud UK and your bank.
  
• Change the payment details of one of your suppliers
  Fraudsters often impersonate suppliers and ask businesses to pay into a new account – controlled by the fraudster. Check the caller is genuinely your supplier by calling back on the number on their website or, better still, by calling your direct contact at the company.
• Download something – software, a programme, app or other online tool
  Fraudsters may tell you there’s something wrong with your computer and it’s not secure. By downloading some software, they’ll be able to fix it for you. They might even offer you compensation or a refund for this inconvenience. In reality, the downloaded software could give them access to your computer. They may ask you to log in to your internet banking so they can issue your refund, when really they’re asking you to authorise payments into their own account. Triodos will never call you out of the blue and ask you to transfer money into another account, or download something onto your device.
• Tell them your Digipass codes
  Your Digipass codes give permission for money to leave your account. Never give these codes, no matter what they tell you. We will never ask you for these codes.
  

If you receive a call from Triodos, we’ll be happy for you to question who we are and call us back on the number published on our website, just to make sure. If you can, call us back from a different phone, as an extra safety precaution. Fraudsters can clone numbers, so it may look like the number we use to call you.

We will never call you to ask you to transfer money or for your Digipass codes, and we will never ask you to download software onto your device. If someone calls pretending to be from Triodos, and they ask you to do these things, hang up immediately and report it to us on 0330 355 0355.

Fraudsters often look for data on people that they can use to impersonate or defraud them.

They may research you or your colleagues, so we advise that you educate your staff about protecting their data and ensure they are fraud aware too.

What kind of data might a fraudster steal?

• Personal details, such as your name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number.
• Contact details like your mobile phone, landline, work number and email address(es).
• Memorable information used for security and passwords, such as mother’s maiden name, schools or university attended, pet names, car makes and names of family members.
• Your bank account number, sort code and card details.
• PINs, passwords, Digipass number or other login details.

Ways fraudsters might get hold of your data:

• Social media and online forums – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit – all public platforms could hold a wealth of information about you, your employees, your business and your customers.
• Your company website – if your business has a website, consider what information you include. We advise you not to put your bank details on your website, as fraudsters can use this to impersonate you or your bank.
• Competitions and quizzes – particularly those found on social media websites.
• Calling you and pretending to be a trusted organisation.
• Companies who sell your email address or phone number - always read terms and conditions when signing up for a product or service.
• Bank statements, post and paper documents. Always lock away documents that hold sensitive information and destroy them when no longer required.
• Hacking into email accounts. Ensure your IT systems are secure and be wary of using shared internet connections outside of work. Consider that your suppliers, customers and partners can also have their emails hacked. We recommend that you do not share sensitive data via email – if you need to, encrypt the information with a password.
  

Bank impersonation fraud is when a fraudster impersonates someone from the bank in order to trick a victim into making payments to a fraudulent account.

What a fraudster might do:

• A fraudster usually calls their victim, though may use email or another contact method. It’s likely they already know information about the victim, including their name and who they bank with.
• While impersonating the bank staff member, the fraudster might tell the victim their account is under threat and they need to make payments to a “safe account” or set up payments in order to “block the funds”.
• The fraudster might ask for details from the Digipass so they can access the account and make payments to the fraudulent account themselves.
• The fraudster might ask the victim to download screen sharing software so they can view or control the victim’s computer. This can make it easier to take control of the account.
• In any scenario, the fraudster will foster a feeling of panic in order to get the victim to comply with their requests as quickly as possible.
• Fraudsters might also impersonate other well-known, trusted companies such as Microsoft, Apple, BT or HMRC.

What Triodos Bank will never do

• We’ll never call you to tell you to log into internet banking or to make a payment to a “safe account”. If we believe your account to be under threat, we can block the account ourselves and do not need you to do anything from your end.
• We’ll never ask you for your full Digipass number or your Digipass PIN.
• We’ll never ask you to download any software onto your PC or mobile phone.

What you can do to protect yourself

• Never give out your personal details to someone who has called you unexpectedly.
• Never download any software onto your PC or mobile phone when asked by someone over the phone or by email – even if you think you are speaking to a trusted organisation.
• Never give anyone your Digipass number or your Digipass PIN. Triodos will never ask for this information.
• Do not let someone else use your Digipass – even a colleague or family member. Your Digipass is assigned to you as an individual and must only be used by yourself. If you leave your place of work, please let us know and we can arrange for your Digipass to be cancelled.
• If you are unsure about someone who has called you claiming to be from the bank or another company, hang up and call back on the company’s published telephone number.

Social media fraud can be many things. It could look like:

• An unusual message from a friend, colleague or family member on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social media platform. Fraudsters sometimes hack social media accounts to scam people into sending them money or personal data. If you get an unusual request like this, call your friend on a number you trust to make sure the message is real.
• A request to connect with you or a message from an account you don’t know. Often these have lots of spelling mistakes or a messy layout, but not always. It’s best not to accept a request to connect with someone or give consent for them to message you unless you know who they are and trust them.
• Competitions and quizzes. If you have to give personal details to enter a competition or quiz, make sure you trust the owner of the quiz or competition and that they are a genuine company. Quizzes and competitions are often created to capture participants’ personal information, which they can later sell or use against you.
  

• Use a different, strong password for every social media account you have – ideally with special characters, numbers and lower and upper case letters.
• Don’t create passwords that contain personal information - fraudsters scan social media accounts for personal details and try to guess passwords and steal identities.
• Some fake accounts are created to capture personal information, so don’t give personal information to anyone you don’t know and trust.
• Don’t click on links if they’re not from a trusted website - some links can put a virus on your device.
• Always log off to prevent someone else accessing your account.
• Be mindful of what you share and post on company social media channels whose services you use. Social media is great for contacting companies directly to solve problems or give feedback. If you mention or message your bank, phone network or utility provider on social media, be aware that this information is public and fraudsters can use it to convince you they’re calling from these companies.