VULNERABLE people could avoid being scammed over the phone by dialing a 159 number which will put them in direct contact with their bank. 

Police are urging people to call 159 if they believe they are being manipulated into sharing bank details over the phone.  

People are being told to stop talking to the person on the phone and hang up. Police have then advised people to dial the 159 number to speak directly with their bank. 

A spokesperson from West Mercia Police said: "Criminal gangs may contact you and pretend to be your bank or another service provider.

"159 is the memorable, secure number that connects you directly to your bank if you think you might be being scammed.

"159 works in the same way as 101 for the police or 111 for the NHS. It is the number you can trust to get you through to your bank, every time".

 

How it works: 'Stop, Hang Up, Call 159'

The spokesperson said: "This breaks the scam ‘journey’ at the critical moment when you are at the most risk of being manipulated into making a payment.

"So, even if scammers can make contact with you, that link will be broken by your call to 159, before any information is shared, any payment is made, and any harm is done". 

Worcester News: West Mercia Police reveal what number to ring if you think you are being scammedWest Mercia Police reveal what number to ring if you think you are being scammed (Image: NQ)

The cost of calling 159 will vary according to your phone provider. 

It will be the same as a national rate call in many cases. 

The banks who currently use 159 are; Barclays, Co-operative Bank, First Direct, HSBC, Lloyds (including Halifax and Bank of Scotland), Metro Bank, Nationwide Building Society

NatWest (including Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank), Santander, Starling Bank, TSB,

And the telephone companies involved in 159 are; BT (including EE and Plusnet), Gamma, O2 (including giffgaff), Sky, TalkTalk, Three, Virgin Media, and Vodafone.