TSB Scam Text UK: Spot a Fake Bank SMS
Criminals are sending fake TSB text messages that look almost identical to genuine bank alerts—here's how to tell the difference.
7726, and email a screenshot to emailscams@tsb.co.uk. A text asking for your PIN or full security information, or telling you to move money to a "safe account", is fraudulent.TSB publishes one set of checks for email and different advice for texts
The two are routinely run together and that is how people reach the wrong answer. TSB's published SMS advice contains no identifier that marks a text as genuine. What it does say is that scam texts often carry spelling and grammar mistakes, that links may take you to a website built to steal your details, and that you should not reply or click on anything.
So the test for a text is behavioural rather than forensic. Treat a message as unverified whenever it arrives unexpectedly, carries a link, manufactures a deadline, or asks for security information — something along the lines of TSB: a payment of £450 is pending. Cancel now: tsb-secure-login.example, which is an illustration rather than a real campaign. Then settle it independently, away from the message: open the TSB app yourself, or go through an official contact route you already hold, such as the number printed on the back of your card.
One aside, clearly labelled because it is the part most often misapplied. TSB does publish identifiers for its genuine emails: it says an email will greet you personally by name and will include the last four digits of your TSB current account number, the last four digits of another TSB product you hold, or the last three digits of your postcode, and that its email addresses end in tsb.co.uk. Those are email checks. A text is not fraudulent merely because it lacks them, and finding something that looks like one inside a text proves nothing either way.
What TSB says a fraudster asks for
TSB frames these three on its fraud-prevention pages as warnings about telephone calls:
- A caller asking for your PIN. TSB says it will never ask you for it.
- A caller asking for your full password or memorable information.
- A caller saying your money is not safe and telling you to move it into a "safe" bank account.
The scope of that source is calls, so it should not be quoted as a statement about texts. The substance still travels, though, because the underlying banking facts do not change with the channel: no genuine process needs your PIN or your full password, and no genuine instruction moves your money into another account for safekeeping. A text asking for those secrets, or pushing you towards a safe account, is fraudulent however convincing the sender name looks. Nationwide members receive a members-only variant built around Fairer Share payments — our Nationwide scam text guide covers it.
The Fraud Refund Guarantee ended in 2024 — what applies now
TSB launched the UK's first Fraud Refund Guarantee in April 2019. It is no longer running. TSB confirms the guarantee ended at midnight on 6 October 2024 and now applies only to eligible fraud transactions that took place before that moment.
Money sent from 7 October 2024 onwards falls under the mandatory reimbursement rules instead, and those are narrower than the old promise:
- They cover authorised push payment fraud — money you were tricked into sending yourself — made by Faster Payments or CHAPS. International payments, card payments, cash and cheques sit outside them.
- Reimbursement is capped at £85,000 for each eligible claim.
- You have 13 months from the payment to report it.
- A firm may deduct an excess of up to £100 per claim; TSB's published position is that it will not apply that excess on claims it refunds.
- An approved claim is repaid within five business days.
None of that amounts to a guaranteed refund. Claims are assessed individually and reimbursement can be reduced or refused, so the decision that actually protects your money is the one you take before the payment leaves, not the argument afterwards.
The call that usually comes next
A smishing text is often the opening move rather than the whole scam. Whatever a fake login page harvests makes the follow-up call convincing: the voice already knows your name, your balance and a recent transaction, and wants you to move funds somewhere safe.
TSB is one of the institutions reachable on 159, the Stop Scams UK number that cannot itself be spoofed or impersonated. Use it in one direction only. 159 is a number you dial out on; it says nothing about whoever is already talking to you. TSB's published guidance tells customers to end a suspicious call and contact it through 159. Hang up first, then dial 159 or use the number on the back of the card.
Where to send the text
emailscams@tsb.co.uk— TSB's mailbox for suspicious emails and texts. TSB says screenshots of a text message can be sent here, which is the practical way to pass an SMS on.7726— the free shortcode that puts the sender in front of your mobile network.report@phishing.gov.uk— the NCSC's address, if the same bait also landed in your inbox.
Losses, or credentials you have already handed over, belong with Report Fraud too: reportfraud.police.uk, or 0300 123 2040 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scottish reports go to Police Scotland on 101. Hold on to the original message until every report is filed.
If you already tapped through
Speed matters more than tidiness here. Ring TSB on the number on the back of your card, or 159, and say plainly that you entered details on a page you reached from an SMS — that gets the account flagged rather than merely watched. If a payment went out, say so in the same call: the 13-month reporting window is generous, but a Faster Payment raised within minutes stands the best chance of being stopped at the receiving end.
Then work through the payment, account and identity steps in our scam recovery checklist. Where identity details such as your date of birth or address history went across alongside banking credentials, Cifas Protective Registration adds an extra check to applications made in your name; it costs £30, runs for two years, and you apply at cifas.org.uk/pr.
Frequently asked questions
Is TSB's Fraud Refund Guarantee still running?
No. TSB confirms it ended at midnight on 6 October 2024 and now covers only eligible fraud transactions from before then. Anything from 7 October 2024 is assessed under the mandatory reimbursement rules — conditional, capped at £85,000, and limited to Faster Payments and CHAPS.
Will TSB take the £100 excess out of a fraud claim?
The rules allow a firm to deduct up to £100 per claim, and TSB's published position is that it will not apply that excess on claims it refunds. That does not make repayment automatic: the claim still has to be accepted on its facts.
How do I tell a genuine TSB message from a fake?
TSB publishes its name and partial-account/postcode checks for email, not SMS. For texts, it warns about spelling or grammar errors and links that may steal details, and says not to reply or click. Check the TSB app independently, forward a suspicious text to 7726, and send TSB a screenshot at emailscams@tsb.co.uk.
Someone rang claiming to be the TSB fraud team — how do I check?
TSB's published guidance tells customers to end a suspicious call and contact it through 159. Hang up first, then dial 159 or use the number on the back of the card.
How do I report a TSB scam text?
Screenshot it, email it to emailscams@tsb.co.uk, then forward the message itself to 7726. Where money moved or credentials went across, add a Report Fraud case at reportfraud.police.uk, or dial 101 for Police Scotland.
Sources checked
- TSB — How to recognise fraud (email identifiers, separate SMS advice, screenshots to emailscams@tsb.co.uk)
- TSB — Payment Systems Regulator fraud rules (Fraud Refund Guarantee end date, £85,000 cap, no £100 excess)
- TSB — Fraud Refund Guarantee launch announcement (14 April 2019)
- Stop Scams UK — 159 phone number (participating firms include TSB)
- Cifas — Protective Registration