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Stay safe from fraud

We’re dedicated to protecting all of our Tide members from the industry-wide threat of fraud.

Our tips below cover common fraud tactics and how to avoid them, as well as how to get in touch if you feel you’re being or have been scammed.

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How to report fraud

Noticed a strange transaction? Given your details to a suspicious contact?

If you think you’ve been scammed, report it easily through our Fraud Rapid Response Team’s dedicated number:

From the UK: 159 (supported by Stop Scams UK)

From outside of the UK: +44 20 4587 0366

Lines are open 9am-6pm seven days a week.

Or use your Tide app’s in-app messenger, which is open 24/7.

You can also contact us 24/7 at hello@tide.co for email support.

Report it once and we’ll take it from there - and keep you updated throughout.

How to be sure before you send money or provide information

If you feel you’ve been contacted by a fraudster, follow these steps to best protect yourself:

Take 5

Fraudsters often use urgency to influence you. 

Official organisations will never pressure you into making a payment or giving your personal details.

Simply taking a moment to stop and consider the message can really help.

Check the details

Does the email address look right? Is the phone number officially registered?

Searching the web address and contact information of a message will give you a better idea of whether it’s genuine.

If you’re concerned, ask us before making a payment - and if you do make it be sure to pay with your card.

Restart the conversation

If a message seems suspicious, don’t reply to it directly. 

Restart the conversation through official helplines. You can then ask that organisation if they sent you the message.

This is even more important if you’re being asked to make a payment. Always call us or message us through your app before moving money.

Preventing fraud from happening

Fraudsters can use clever tactics to try to access your finances and personal information.

By understanding how some scams may work, you can spot them more easily:

Using personal information

Fraudsters can obtain personal information from many sources, including unsecured websites, social media and even the contents of your bin.

They can use this to clone legitimate legitimate phone numbers or to tell you your transaction history to win you over.

This is why it’s important to take care with what you share online, keep personal documents such as bank statements safe and make sure they’re unreadable when you throw them away.

Impersonating others

By impersonating a genuine organisation, they can convince you to do as they say.

They can appear to be official by creating fake webpages, using very similar email addresses - and can even send a fake message within a thread of genuine ones.

Be sure to restart conversations through official websites or points of contact so you know who you are talking to.

Making demands

Once they’ve convinced you, they’ll ask you to carry out a harmful action.

This can include sending money, sharing personal information about yourself or others, or making you download malicious apps or software.

Always make sure you have 100% trust in who's asking you to carry out these actions.

As almost all fraud begins by someone pretending to be an organisation you know, it helps to know how official organisations will contact you, and what they will and won’t ask from you:

Pretending to be Tide

Common scam:

Asking for your personal details, including login details, QR codes and one-time passcodes, or asking you to move money.

How to spot it:

We’ll never ask you for any verification codes, one-time passcodes, your account balance, your full card number or the 3 security code digits on the back of your card. 

We’ll never ask you to move money - even if your account is compromised. We’ll simply block it and secure it instead.

We’ll never ask you to scan QR codes.

Our in-app chat is completely secure - you’ll always be talking to us through it.

Pretending to be HMRC

Common scam: 

Asking for money or personal details by phone, text or email - usually concerning unpaid tax or a tax rebate.

How to spot it: 

HMRC will never contact you by text or email concerning a tax rebate or refund - they will only send a letter.

They will never call you to ask to make a payment.

Scam emails usually begin with a generic greeting such as ‘Dear Sir’. HMRC will always use your name, though fraudsters may have accessed this as well.

Pretending to be a person of authority

Common scam:

Pretending to be the police, your electricity company or your landlord and asking you for money urgently ‘to avoid legal action’.

How to spot it:

Rather than replying to the email or text, start a new conversation through official company helplines or your landlord’s saved details to ask about the message.

Official organisations will never hurry you into making a decision.

If there are legitimate legal consequences, official organisations will be on your side and provide support to try and avoid this.

What to do if you’ve been a victim of fraud

Contact us straight away.

We operate a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and are on hand to help. The sooner we know, the more likely it is that we can prevent harm and help recover any lost money. 

Here’s what you’ll need to do so we can support you fully:

Report it to us

Contact our Fraud Rapid Response Team on 159 (supported by Stop Scams UK). Lines are open 9am-6pm seven days a week.

Or use your Tide app’s secure in-app messenger, which is available 24/7.

Contact Action Fraud

This is the UK’s national centre for fraud and cybercrime.

You should alert them to your issue as well for a greater chance of recovering funds and preventing further harm.

Check your statements

Look out for strange transactions. If you spot any, freezing your card through your Tide app could prevent further harm.

To do this, tap More > My cards > Freeze card temporarily. Once the issue is resolved you can unfreeze it here.

Together we can beat fraud. For further support, you can visit Take Five for more information on fraud, Action Fraud to stay on top of the latest scams, Stop Scams UK for a dedicated support helpline, and Which? for help with the stress of a fraud attack.