Making sure messages are really from us

They use a variety of tricks to make it seem like a genuine message from us, but are in fact trying to get personal details and information from you.

It’s really important to make sure you check and verify that any messages you receive are genuine. This will help you keep your personal information secure and stay safe online. To help you do this, here’s some information about how we work.

Scammers posing as us will try to make their messages sounds as convincing as possible, but there are some things we will never ask for, such as: 

• Money – we are a free service set up by Parliament and our service is free to consumers. So we will never ask you to pay a fee to send us a complaint. Find out more about how we are funded. 
• Information ‘up front’  – if you’ve never been in contact with us before, it is likely that the message will be a scam and you shouldn’t respond to it. We never ‘cold call’ and would only contact you if you’d been in touch with us to submit a complaint. 
• Asking you to buy financial products or services – we’re an impartial body that helps to resolve financial complaints, so we wouldn’t offer you financial products or services, or financial advice. 
• Asking you to take part in an incentive scheme to get your complaint looked at, upheld or to release compensation – scammers may try to entice you with some kind of incentive, such as buying gift cards or goods, telling you it’s a way of getting your complaint upheld, or to release compensation. They may also say they’ll handle any compensation or awards made and offer to make these payments to you. We will never do this, and any messages claiming to be us with this kind of request are definitely fake. 

Here are some examples of how can you check whether a message claiming to be from us to check is genuine.

• Check the email address – if you’re using a tablet, laptop or desktop computer, check the email address between the <> symbols. Most scammers will try to hide the email address as they won't be able to use a verified Financial Ombudsman Service email, so it’s best to check for this. If you’re using a mobile device, you’ll need to select the sender's name to see the email address.
• Check the phone number – if you receive a call from a normal mobile phone number, or from an international area code claiming to be us, do not give any information if you’re unsure. Even if the number looks genuine, some scammers use a technique called ‘Caller ID spoofing’ and replicate a real number so it looks genuine. Hang up, wait for five minutes to make sure the line is clear, or use a different phone line, and call us directly on 0800 023 4567 to check if the call was genuine. 
• Check spelling and grammar – most scammers won’t bother to check their spelling when they send a message to you. Bad English is a good indicator that a message is false. Scammers may also refer to you as ‘Dear customer’ or ‘Dear (your email address)’ whereas genuine messages from us will use your first name or title and last name, depending on how you’ve told us you’d like to be referred to. 
• Check links in emails and texts – if you think a link in an email or text is suspicious, don’t open it. In an email, you can check the link by hovering over it (on a laptop or desktop computer) or by pressing and holding (but not releasing) on a tablet or mobile device. 
• Questions – a genuine call from one of our team will include asking you for two pieces of security information that you will have provided when you first submitted your complaint. If you’re unsure that the person you’re speaking to is genuine, don’t give then the security information or any other details, then call us. 

Postal correspondence

If you receive anything in the post that says it comes from us, our registered office address is: 

Financial Ombudsman Service
Exchange Tower
London
E14 9SR

If you’re still not sure that the message you’ve received is genuine and from us, you can call us for free on 0800 023 4567 and one of our team will be happy to help. 

We can provide an email address for you to send us the message you think might be fraudulent. The more examples we can put together from scammers, the more we find out about what addresses they’re using and can stop them. 

We have been assessed and certified by the Government-backed Cyber Essentials Scheme.

Complying with the scheme’s requirements, demonstrates our commitment to cyber security.

You can find out more general information and guidance about staying safe online and how to report fraudulent and scam messages. Our guide to staying safe online and what to do if you're caught out by a scam outlines what to do if you think you have been caught out by a scam, the organisations that can help you, and how to complain to a financial business and to us.