Protect your family
I consider myself to be pretty savvy when it comes to scams. But last week, I received a Starling Bank scam call that was so convincing, it almost caught me out.
The caller was calm, professional, and shared just enough detail to feel legitimate. It was a stark reminder of how sophisticated these fraud attempts have become. In this post, I’ll share what happened, the subtle red flags I almost missed, and the practical steps you can take to protect yourself if you ever receive a similar call.
It started with a withheld number
I rarely answer calls from withheld numbers, but on this occasion, I picked up. It was a Sunday afternoon and I wasn’t really doing much, so I just answered out of curiosity.
The call was crystal clear and professional. There was no background noise and no delay, which might have indicated some kind of far-away call centre. The caller gave his name and introduced himself as part of Starling Bank’s fraud department.
He said there had been some suspicious attempted transactions on my account, which they had blocked. A payment to Hastings Car Insurance, supposedly in Liverpool, and another to Domino’s Pizza, originating in Aberdeen.
He took time to ask if I had any knowledge of these, and whether there may be family members or friends who could have initiated the transactions. By sheer coincidence, I had just been browsing for car insurance quotes, so this added to my curiosity.
Several questions were asked about how my card was used recently and whether the card number could have been compromised. The caller asked me to log in to my banking app and check that no unauthorised transactions had been debited, which there had not.
He knew my name. He knew I lived in the Edinburgh area. He knew I banked with Starling (or maybe he just got lucky with this one?) He even quoted the first few digits of my debit card. At the time, this detail and the methodical nature of the call made it feel credible. It’s only afterwards I realised those first few digits of my debit card would be the same across all Starling cards.
I was asked to write down a case reference number and repeat it back. I should quote this the next day for security, when the fraud department calls me back again after completing their investigation.
Then came something that really threw me off-guard. While I was still on the call, a genuine-looking Starling notification appeared on my phone, advising of a declined transaction to Dominoes. The caller had initiated this as “evidence” of a fraud attempt and suggested taking action to protect my money.
It was a slick and steady call. No panic. No heavy pressure. Just a measured conversation, delivered with authority and enough personal information to feel real.
He asked me to calculate the total balance of all my “Spaces” within Starling to ensure everything was there. I gave him the number, which he then “confirmed” was correct, giving me another false sense of security. But of course, in hindsight, I realise he was checking that it was worth his time to continue the scam attempt.
Then he advised me to transfer all of the money from my “Spaces” into my main Starling account. And that’s when alarm bells began to ring.
Alarm bells start to ring
I asked him to explain the logic behind moving money out of Spaces. His reasoning was vague. Something about preventing loss and how he’d seen a lot of cases like this in his 10 years working in banks.
I asked if it might be safer to immediately move all of my money across to my account with a different bank. Again, a vague response that didn’t really feel logical.
At this point, I explained that I had worked in financial services for over 30 years and that his request felt very strange. And that’s when things took a turn.
He asked me to write down another “reference number” and to read it back to him. This is where it would have been hilarious if it were a wind-up call and not an attempted scam.
The reference was “f-u-c-k-u” !
I replied “Seriously?” At this point, he admitted it was a scam attempt, based in Canary Wharf. Bizarrely, he complimented me on my awareness, told me I was “switched on” and that if he could have just kept me going for another 5 minutes, he’d have been successful.
And the best bit? He even asked for feedback on what he could have done better and how would I rate his scam attempt on a scale of 1 to 10!
When I declined to provide feedback and shared my thoughts on scammers, he just responded along the lines of “it’s a Dog-Eat-Dog world out there” and then asked me how my day had been!
What I learned afterwards and how you can protect yourself
Not long after the call ended, I phoned the real Starling Bank to report the scam attempt.
They were great: calm, reassuring, and informative. For safety, they immediately cancelled my debit card and ordered a new one, although there was no evidence that my card number had been compromised.
And I learned a few things that I think everyone should know:
Starling will never call you out of the blue.
If they do need to speak with you, they’ll send a secure in-app notification first, to let you know to expect a call. That alone is a key red flag I missed. I hadn’t received any such notification.
If you’re ever unsure, hang up and dial 159.
This is a UK-wide anti-scam hotline that connects you safely to your bank. I didn’t know about this number before, but it’s a simple and powerful way to take back control if something feels off.
Starling uses a ‘Customer Service Code’ for verification.
There’s a six-digit code within the Starling app that changes every few minutes. If it’s a genuine Starling agent calling you, they’ll ask you to check that code and read it back.
Real fraud alerts trigger real app notifications.
Looking back, I normally get an alert immediately if there’s any kind of activity on my account. But during the call, I overlooked the fact that nothing like that had come through, other than the strange fake notification the scammer managed to trigger.
Don’t ignore in-app warnings
A relatively new feature is that Starling can detect if you’re on the telephone at the same time as using the app. If you’re not speaking with a genuine Starling employee, a warning pops up to say “We are not on the phone to you – call 159”. Don’t ignore it, no matter how re-assuring the caller is!
The red flags I nearly spotted
In hindsight, there were a few little alarm bells ringing in the back of my mind.
- Why did they quote the first few digits of my card, not the last four, which is more typical?
- Why were they asking me to tell them the amount in my Spaces, rather than confirming it to me?
- Why hadn’t I received the usual app notifications about those so-called fraudulent transactions?
Each of those things felt a little odd. But the overall presentation, the pace, tone, and personal details made it feel authentic enough to keep me on the line.
That’s the scary thing. These calls don’t always feel pressured. Sometimes, they feel like a calm, professional conversation. And that’s exactly how they work.
The biggest lesson? Trust your instincts.
This experience was based on Starling Bank, but it could have been any financial institution. No matter who you bank with, if something doesn’t feel quite right, even just a tiny sense of discomfort, don’t ignore it. Hang up. Take a moment. Call 159.
I’ve been reassured that Starling and other banks have excellent security features to help prevent fraud, but you need to be aware of those features. You can read more about Starling’s anti-fraud protection here.
If you get a call like this, give yourself the space to pause, think, and regroup. It might be the thing that saves you from a costly and distressing scam.
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