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warning! fraudulent phone calls claiming to be from the ombudsman service ...

19 February 2010

Phone calls are being made by a firm claiming to be the Banking Ombudsman or Insurance Ombudsman and asking consumers to pay an upfront fee and reveal their bank account details or passwords.

These calls are not genuine. The Financial Ombudsman Service is a free service for consumers and there is no need for consumers to make any payment to us. The ombudsman service does not "cold call" consumers and ask for their banking details.

If you get a phone call that seems a bit suspicious from someone who claims to be from the ombudsman service – or who says the ombudsman service has passed on your contact details – you can check it out by calling us on 0300 123 9 123.

To help protect yourself generally from fraudulent telephone calls or emails – you should:

never provide personal details – such as your address, date of birth etc unless you’re absolutely certain the request is genuine
never provide any of your banking or credit card details unless you’re absolutely certain the request is genuine; and
never give anyone your security information, such as your internet/telephone banking password or logon details. No genuine banking firm ever asks you to provide this information.

More information on how to protect yourself from scams.

media enquiries

David Cresswell – phone 020 7964 0134
out of hours – phone 0771 8658 306