HSBC has issued an urgent fraud warning following a surge in UK customers downloading fake applications that deceive users into sharing their financial information.
The bank reports that in recent weeks, it has encountered numerous customers who mistakenly downloaded counterfeit apps mimicking legitimate ones with similar names. These fraudulent apps request sensitive information such as usernames and credit card details, which can then be exploited by criminals to unlawfully access funds. Some of these fake apps may block, redirect, or impersonate genuine applications, including banking ones, while others are designed to mislead users into believing they are logging into their actual banking app.
In response to this growing threat, HSBC has updated its ‘Latest Scams’ page and sent notifications via its Fraud and Cyber Awareness app.
David Callington, head of fraud at HSBC UK, remarked, “Our teams are vigilant in identifying and reporting these dummy apps to have them removed, but criminals continually create new ones or alter existing names and designs. It’s an ongoing challenge.”
He urged customers to remain alert and exercise caution, emphasizing that the best defense against these scams is to only download apps from trusted sources and to verify their authenticity before providing any personal information.