Starling Bank introduces tool to combat bank impersonation scams

The tool, known as a ‘call status indicator,’ informs customers in real time whether an incoming call is genuinely from Starling, allowing them to recognise potential scams immediately. This function alerts users if a caller impersonating Starling attempts to convince them to make payments. 

According to UK Finance, efforts to reduce impersonation scams in the UK have shown progress. In 2023, reported cases of fraud involving criminals posing as banks and persuading victims to move funds to ‘safe accounts’ decreased by 37% from the previous year. Additionally, losses from such scams declined by 28%, supported by campaigns reminding consumers that legitimate banks will never request money transfers in this manner. 

According to thefintechtimes.com, despite a high level of awareness, 84% of UK adults know about bank impersonation scams. The same source reveals that this type of fraud still leads to approximately GBP 78.9 million in losses annually.

How the Call Status indicator works

The new feature displays messages within the Starling app to confirm a call’s authenticity. When users open their app, they see one of the following messages: 

• ‘We’ve never called you’ 
• ‘We’re calling you now’ 
• ‘You’re on a call with Starling’ 
• ‘We aren’t calling you’ 
• ‘No recent calls’ (including the time of the last verified contact from Starling)

These indicators appear on both the home and payment screens, guiding customers who may feel pressured to transfer money by verifying if a legitimate Starling representative is on the call. The bank anticipates that the tool will reassure users and reduce the financial impact of fraud. 

Starling Bank officials noted the frequency and sophistication of impersonation scams and added that call status indicators should help customers determine whether a call is genuine, offering them confidence against potential scams. 

This new feature follows Starling Bank's recent ‘Safe Phrases’ campaign, which encourages customers to use unique phrases with trusted individuals to verify identities in the event of AI-driven voice impersonation fraud. The call status indicator is part of Starling’s wider strategy to enhance customer security and protect against fraud.