How do I report fraud, card loss or theft, or suspicious activity on my account?

Inside the UK: 0330 123 5985

Outside the UK: +44 (0)20 7597 2836

What to do if you think you are a victim of fraud

  1. Report your concerns to Investec

    Use the numbers above to report a lost or stolen card or if you have noticed suspicious activity on your account.

  2. Talk to the authorities

    We also urge you to report this to the authorities online at the following websites:

    If you are in the UK: www.actionfraud.police.uk

    In South Africa: www.safps.org.za (for application fraud or identity theft)

Know Fraud security image
Most of us think the world of fraud will never touch us. Until it does.

In our increasingly digital age, cybercrime is on the rise. But not all fraud relies on sophisticated technology. Sometimes a common, simple deception can separate you from your money. 

When you know fraud, you are empowered to prevent it. Be vigilant, be proactive, be secure.

 

 

Payments to Binance

For our client's security, we’re no longer accepting payments to Binance. Clients will need to make other arrangements if they’d like to pay Binance in future. 

Why is this happening now?

The FCA has previously issued a warning about this particular cryptocurrency exchange. We’re now beginning to see some of our clients falling victim to scams involving Binance, and so we’ve decided the best way to protect our clients is to block all payments to Binance from now on.  Clients will still be able to transfer money they hold with Binance into their Investec account. 

Investing in crypto-assets generally

Binance isn’t the only risky cryptocurrency exchange. The FCA has also warned consumers about the risks of investing in crypto-assets. Funds held in crypto-wallets are not well protected by regulatory schemes. For example, clients are unlikely to have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if anything goes wrong. Investec cannot always identify when its clients attempt to make a payment connected to a crypto-currency (other than Binance).  However, if we do spot an attempt to make payments connected to cryptocurrency, we may call for further checks. 

Visit the FCA’s scams hub to learn more about crypto-assets.

 

 

Warning: stay alert to current threats

email button about to be pressed on computer key board

Brand impersonation of Investec and others

Is someone claiming to be from Investec? Fraudsters may contact you by telephone, email, SMS/text, letter or direct you to a website. For example, they may tell you about an investment opportunity, or that you are the sole beneficiary of inheritance. These communications may look legitimate, with similar-sounding names to a bank or financial institution.

By adding official-looking logos, banking registration details and company numbers, these well-crafted deceptions give the impression that everything is right. If you’re not sure, call the head office switchboard, and never use numbers supplied by the person you’re suspicious of.

If you’ve already transferred money or information to a fraudster, contact your bank immediately. The bank may not recover all of it, but if you move quickly, it will recover what it can.

We maintain a list of companies and people who claim to be from Investec. With your feedback, we can keep everyone informed. You can review our full list of fraud alerts here.

If you think you have been targeted, click here to find more information on investment scams

Cryptocurrency fraud

Cryptocurrency investment scams

Fraudsters are taking advantage of the low-interest rates in traditional financial services to market lucrative “investments” in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. You may be asked to make a card bank transfer to your
new “crypto wallet,” after which the fraudsters will disappear with your money and the investment will never materialise.

Protect yourself by following these rules:

1. Always be aware of the risks associated with crypto investments

2. Do not transfer money to a cryptocurrency wallet that you didn’t set up yourself

3. Check the FCA warning list to ensure you are not dealing with a fraudulent investment provider

4. Always call the provider to verify the investment on an independently-sourced number, not the one found in the body of an email or documents you have been sent.

Smishing - SMS phishing, fraud by text

Suspicious text messages (smishing)

Fraudsters are increasingly sending text messages that impersonate genuine companies such as a tax authority, a postal service or even your bank. They may appear to be genuine, but are designed to steal data or to get people to pay them. This is called ‘smishing’ (SMS phishing).

In this case study we explain how some messages appear to be a small shipping fee request from the Royal Mail, but are made to acquire private information and target the recipient with further scams.

Always remember:

1. Never click on a link within a text message. Instead, call the organisation on an independently sourced number to confirm if the message is genuine. Don’t call the number in the text message.

2. If you want to access online banking, do so through the Investec app or through Investec Online. Don’t use a website link someone has sent you.

3. Never respond to a suspicious message. Instead, block the sender’s number using your device or contact your network provider and ask them to block the number for you.

Please note, we may send you emails from time to time. However, we will never send you an email asking for your security information or logon details, or direct you to a web page that asks for this information. We will also never send you an email with a link to Investec Online Banking.

How to protect yourself against fraud

Mans hands working on laptop keyboard

Stay alert

From email hacking and ‘phishing’ to fake unsubscribe buttons, find out the ways fraudsters are trying to trick you.

Young female accessing mobile phone next to her laptop

Protect your identity

Your personal details are valuable. Don’t respond to unexpected requests for validation of your security or personal details.

 

Woman working on her tablet device

Protect your devices

There’s no such thing as free wifi. Make sure no-one can access or install malware in your computer and mobile devices.

Man working on his tablet device

Recognise malicious apps

Malware is a term for various forms of malicious software. It’s transmitted via email attachments and infected websites.

Businessman accessing his mobile phone

Use Investec Online

Our online banking service is hosted on a secure 128-bit encrypted server. This means that any information you send us is encoded for your protection.

 

 

What we do to protect you

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Predict, detect, prevent and respond

Looking after your security is a fundamental part of our business. We know that you want to receive an exceptional client experience, and staying safe is primordial.

As an Investec client, you benefit from the combination of our expertise in the security, risk, and fraud prevention disciplines.

The threat landscape evolves every day, and we work hard to adapt our security architecture, so as to manage associated risks.

Our security programme is broken up into three main components

Fraud prevention

Fraud prevention

The Investec Fraud team works to protect our business and clients from becoming victims of fraud.

 

Investec has various layers of control, including prevention and deterrence, detection and mitigation, repair and recovery, investigation, and learning.

 

To do this, the team uses industry-leading real-time fraud detection systems to pick up potentially fraudulent payments.

 

The team is made of experienced professionals, who are part of various fraud-prevention forums and groups, and regularly attend events and conferences to stay a step ahead.

 

They also make sure that you, our client, is made aware of fraud threats with education campaigns and alerts, and help train Investec colleagues to also protect you, themselves and our business from fraudsters.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity

Our Cybersecurity team actively seeks potential vulnerabilities within the Investec application and infrastructure architecture.

These experts use constant research to stay at the leading edge of changes in potential threats to the landscape of our technology and processes.

Using this knowledge, the team plays an important role in product development, making sure that all applications are secure by design. 

They also raise new threats they identify with the Information Security teams, to put preventative measures in place, and minimise potential cyber incidents.

Information security

Information security

Investec’s Information Security team is responsible for the systematic implementation and monitoring of technology. 

 

The team maintains a close relationship with the Fraud and Cybersecurity teams. They also meet security researchers and providers to ensure a best-practice approach to mitigating risk. 

 

By closely monitoring the security landscape, the team makes sure that we know about any threats, that we’re ready in case of incidents, and that we can quickly address any vulnerabilities.