HSBC Safeguard email scam: how to stay safe

Rights, Scams and Politics

Updated on 30 November 2016 | 5 Comments

Watch out for this "HSBC Safeguard" email. It’s a scam!

There’s a new HSBC scam email to watch out for.

The email, flagged up by a loveMONEY reader, claims to be from the bank and informs the recipient they need to update their HSBC Safeguard protection.

It warns that "online and physical services" have been "temporarily disabled" until HSBC Safeguard details have been updated.

While HSBC Safeguard is a real initiative, this email certainly is not and is instead phishing for your details to steal money or use for identity theft.

Spot signs of suspicious activity by accessing your credit report

What the email looks like

The message looks pretty convincing as you can see below.

Plus, hovering over the first link, it appears to take you to the legitimate HSBC Safeguard site.

How you can tell it’s a scam

However, there are some clear signs that this is a bogus email if you look carefully.

First off, while the sender appears as 'HSBC BANK' the actual sender's address next to it tells a different story.

Also if you hover over the second hyperlink where the email invites you to ‘update now’ you will see the link is actually for a different website.

How you might be tricked

As we mentioned earlier, HSBC Safeguard is a real initiative set up to protect customers’ money but the scheme is under review.

The bank states on its official website that it's likely to be in touch with some customers if it needs them to confirm, update or provide new information.

It's clear fraudsters have latched onto this and are attempting to capitalise on the opportunity by flooding inboxes with emails pretending to be from HSBC.

So some customers might be expecting an email about HSBC Safeguard and could fall for the scam.

What to do if you get this email

If you get this email don’t click on any of the links. Instead delete it and report it to HSBC and Action Fraud.

Spot signs of suspicious activity by accessing your credit report

Stay safe with loveMONEY

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