Starling Bank has launched an in-app call indicator to protect customers from bank impersonation scams.
Visible on both the home screen and the payment screen, the ‘call status indicators’ will instantly let customers know if they’re receiving a genuine call from Starling at that very moment.
The indicators will also indicate if Starling has never called them or will give information on when the bank last called them.
When someone opens the Starling app to make a payment, they will 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” or “No recent calls [including information on when we last spoke with you]”.
Despite 84% of UK adults being aware of bank impersonation scams, it still accounts for around £78.9 million of losses per year.
Sarah Lenette, financial crime specialist at Starling Bank, says: “We’re constantly looking for new ways to stop scammers in their tracks. Bank impersonations are very sophisticated and anyone can become a victim. Call status indicators give our customers confidence to know whether they’re being contacted by a genuine representative of the bank, or a con artist, which is why we’re proud to launch this today.”