159 – the three-digit number that could stop you from being scammed
Why 159 is a number everyone should know as it could stop scammers stealing from your bank account. But how does it work and when should you use it?
No one is immune to fraudsters and anyone can be ensnared – but one three-digit number could prevent you from falling victim.
Scammers will take every opportunity they can to steal from you, with over four million cases of fraud recorded in the year to September 2025 – up 8% on the previous 12-month period, according to the latest Crime Survey for England and Wales.
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We’ve all had a call from someone pretending to be our bank, but how do you know when it’s real and when it’s not?
Here’s everything you need to know about the number, how it works and how to use it to stop scammers in their tracks.
What is 159?
The three-digit number was set up by Stop Scams UK, a consortium of banks, building societies, tech and telephone firms to give consumers a quick way to check if a suspect text message or call could be fraudulent.
It was launched to prevent banking customers from falling victim to impersonation scams, where a fraudster calls or texts you pretending to be your bank and claiming you need to take action.
One example could be a scammer saying fraud has been detected on your account and that you need to move money to another bank account.
Stop Scams UK says the number is there to break the scam ‘journey’ by asking people to employ the motto: ‘Stop, hang up, call 159’.
While there are a number of fraud incidents related to pension scams and investing scams, 159 has been set up to tackle banking scams.
Over a million calls have been made to 159 since its launch in 2021. The number is available to most UK banking customers.
Calls to the number are charged, with the cost varying depending on your phone provider.
Once you’ve called 159, you’ll usually be asked to select what bank you’re a customer of and then be transferred to its fraud team who will confirm whether the call or message was legitimate or not.
What banks are signed up to 159?
The 159 number connects customers of more than 99% of the UK’s retail bank current accounts with their bank, according to Stop Scams UK.
You can connect to any of the below banks by making a call via the major UK phone providers. This full list is: BT (including EE and Plusnet), Gamma, O2 (including giff gaff), Sky, Three, Vodafone, TalkTalk and Virgin Media.
Here is the full list of banks and building societies that can be contacted through the number:
- Bank of Ireland UK
- Bank of Scotland
- Barclays
- Cater Allen Private Bank
- Chase
- Co-operative Bank
- Danske Bank
- First Direct
- Halifax
- HSBC
- Lloyds
- Metro Bank
- Modulr
- Monzo
- Nationwide Building Society
- NatWest
- Revolut
- Royal Bank of Scotland
- Santander
- Spring
- Starling Bank
- Tide
- True Potential
- TSB
- Ulster Bank
- Virgin Money
- Zempler Bank
Who should you call if it’s a pension or investment scam?
While 159 covers banks, pension and investment services are not.
If you get a call from someone claiming to be your pension or investment provider and you're suspicious, the best recourse to take is to hang up, or if it’s a text message, ignore it. You should then call your pension provider or investment broker on its official number.
If you are being pressured to part with your cash, then it is usually a scam.
If it transpires that the contact was an attempt by a scammer, you can register the incident with Report Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
You can get in touch with Report Fraud via its website or by calling 0300 123 2040.
The Financial Conduct Authority also has a list of known investment and pension scams on its website, while the regulator launched a scam checker tool in 2025.
That said, if the scam call involves you making a bank transfer or your bank account security could be compromised, call 159.
