More than 16 million Nationwide Building Society customers are being urged to immediately adopt a new in-app security feature designed to thwart sophisticated bank impersonation scams. The consumer champion Which? has issued a stark warning, stating that failing to use this tool could leave account holders vulnerable to having their accounts drained and personal details stolen.
The Rising Threat of Impersonation Scams
Financial criminals are deploying increasingly convincing tactics, often using scripts that pressure or panic their victims. One prevalent method highlighted by Which? is the so-called 'Heathrow scam call'. In this ruse, fraudsters contact individuals pretending to be from the police, specifically citing 'Heathrow Police Station'.
They falsely claim someone has been arrested at the airport carrying stolen personal documents, such as a driving licence, which they say belongs to the recipient. To add credibility, the scammers often provide a fake case number and may already have the victim's name and date of birth, likely obtained through a data breach.
The scam typically escalates with a follow-up call from the same criminal, now posing as a bank or financial company. They allege the victim's identity has been used to open fraudulent accounts, with the ultimate aim of extracting more sensitive personal and financial information.
How Nationwide's Call Checker Works
In direct response to this growing threat, Nationwide has launched its 'Call Checker' service, integrated directly into its banking app. The feature allows customers to instantly verify if the person they are speaking to on the phone is a genuine Nationwide colleague.
The process is simple: if a customer receives a call purporting to be from the bank, they can open the Nationwide app, navigate to "More" and then "Call Checker". The screen will then display one of two clear messages: "You’re on a call with [Colleague's Name]" or "You’re not on a call with us."
This new tool complements the society's existing Scam Checker service, which is already used by 100,000 people monthly and prevents an estimated £300,000 from being lost to fraud each month.
A Critical Layer of Defence
Jim Winters, Nationwide's Director of Economic Crime, emphasised the importance of this new layer of security. "Scammers are becoming more sophisticated, and impersonation calls are one of the most common ways they trick people into handing over money," he stated.
"We are programmed to trust people and when someone uses clever tactics and well-practised scripts - often putting us under pressure or making us panic - it can be hard to know who to trust. Our Call Checker feature gives our customers peace of mind by confirming if a call is genuine, or not."
The warning from Which? serves as a crucial reminder for all 16 million Nationwide members to familiarise themselves with this feature. As the world's largest building society, Nationwide's rollout represents a significant step in the banking sector's fight against social engineering fraud, providing a simple yet effective tool to help customers avoid becoming the next crime statistic.
