Suspicious emails and text messages

Have you received an email or text message from someone you don’t know? Are they claiming to be from a well-known company or organisation, such as your bank or building society?

You should never click on a link in an email or text message asking you for your personal or financial details. It could lead to a fake website or cause a virus on your device.

These types of fraud are called ‘Phishing’ (via email) and ‘Smishing’ (via text message).

Things to watch out for:

• If the message tells you to make a quick decision.
  
  
• Bad grammar, spelling mistakes and messy layouts.
  
  
• If you don’t recognise the sender’s email address or it contains strange words or characters.
  
  
• Requests for personal or financial information.

Quick tips to stay safe:

• Don’t click on any links you’re unsure about.
  
  
• Report any suspect emails or text messages before deleting them.
  
  
• Keep your devices up to date with the latest anti-virus software and protect them with a firewall.
  
  
• Never let someone you don't know access your devices, especially remotely.
  
  
• Set up 2 factor authentication where possible.
  
  
• Create strong and unique passwords

If you receive a message from Swansea Building Society that seems fake, please let us know. All our genuine emails end with '@swansea-bs.co.uk'. There will never be another word or character added on, such as '@swansea-bs.mail.co.uk'.