How to check if a text from your bank is real
General help only. This is not medical, legal or financial advice. Confirm important details with a qualified professional or an official source.
The short answer: Do not tap anything in the text. Instead, open your bank's official app or type the bank's website address yourself, or call the number printed on the back of your debit or credit card. If there is a real problem, you will see it there. If there is nothing, the text was almost certainly a scam.
Fake bank texts, sometimes called smishing, are one of the most common ways scammers try to reach people. They look urgent on purpose. The good news is that you can check one in a couple of minutes, and you never need to use the message itself to do it.
Step by step: how to check
1. Do not tap, reply or call the number in the text. Links can lead to copycat websites, and phone numbers in the message may connect you to the scammer. Even replying "STOP" can tell them your number is active.
2. Read it slowly for red flags. Real banks rarely send a vague alert such as "Your account is locked, click here." Look for odd spelling, a threat of closing your account, or a link that looks slightly off.
3. Go to your bank another way. Open the bank's app on your phone, or type the web address yourself. Check your messages and balance there. Or call the number on the back of your card and ask, "Did you send me a text about my account?"
4. Never share a one-time code. If someone asks you to read out or type back a code sent to your phone, stop. Your bank will not ask you to share that code, and a scammer who has it can get into your account.
5. Report it and delete it. Forward the text to 7726 (the letters spell SPAM on your keypad) if your phone carrier supports it in your country, tell your bank, then delete the message.
6. If you already tapped or shared something. Call your bank right away using the number on your card. Ask them to review your account, and consider changing your passwords. Your bank can tell you what to do next.
Try this prompt
AI can help you read a suspicious message with fresh eyes. In a chat tool, type something like:
"Here is a text I got that says it is from my bank: 'Alert: unusual sign-in detected. Verify now at the link below or your account will be suspended.' Does this look like a typical scam? What should I check, and what should I avoid doing?"
Leave out your name, account number and the actual link. AI can be wrong, so treat its answer as a second opinion. The final check always belongs with your bank, using the app or the number on your card.
What to watch out for
Warning signs
- Urgency: "act within 24 hours" or "your account will be closed."
- A link, especially a shortened one, or a request to call an unfamiliar number.
- A request for your full password, PIN, card number or a one-time code.
- A text about a purchase or transfer you do not remember, with a "cancel" link.
- A message that does not use your name, or comes from an unusual number or email address.
- Messages that appear inside an older, genuine thread, because scammers can imitate real sender names.
When in doubt, contact your bank directly. A real bank will never be annoyed that you checked.
Make it a habit
A good rule is simple: the bank never needs you to use the text to prove who you are. You can always go around it. Once that becomes a habit, these messages lose most of their power.
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