How we help to protect you from fraud

Relax. Your account’s protected by our online and mobile banking fraud guarantee:

Fraud protection

You’ll be refunded for any fraud carried out on your account, plus any interest you’ve paid. Letting us know is easy and we’ll get it sorted pronto, too.

24/7 monitoring

We keep tabs on your account using state-of-the-art technology, so we’re quick to spot fraud. If we spot something, we’ll either call you in person, or alert you in under 60 seconds with an automated call.

Dedicated team

Our 200-strong UK and overseas fraud team are dedicated to stopping criminals in their tracks. Last year alone, they prevented £150m of fraud.

Certified member of Cyber Essentials

If we spot fraud on your account, we’ll get in touch with you quickly. Using automated text messages and phone calls means we can contact you 24/7, whatever time zone you’re in. All you need to do is follow the instructions and let us know if you recognise the transactions.

If you recognise the transaction, just confirm it’s genuine and carry on making the most of your card.

If you don’t recognise the transaction follow the instructions and safely destroy all the cards on your account. We’ll cancel your card and send you a replacement, which will be with you in 3 to 5 working days. You can also opt to speak to our fraud team who are on hand to help.

Listen to a sample of our automated voice call (75KB) so you know it's us.

Sometimes, our fraud team might need to speak to you in person, but we’ll never ask you for your PIN, online login details or full passcodes.

Find out more about why you might hear from us and how you can check it’s us.

Letting you know about account changes

If any details are updated on your account, such as your phone number, we’ll send you a text message or email alert to make sure it’s you making the change. You’ll get an alert if you:

• Change your address
• Change your mobile phone number
• Change your phone details
• Add an additional cardholder to your account
• View your PIN online
• Order a replacement card
• Report your card lost or stolen

Whether you’re hitting the beach or you’re away on business, you can use your Barclaycard abroad with peace of mind. We’ll still be monitoring your account for fraud, so if we spot something that doesn’t seem right, we’ll contact you by text, on our automated phone service, or we’ll call you personally.

What is a data breach?

A data breach is an incident where information is stolen or taken from a system without the knowledge or authorisation of the system’s owner. Victims of data breaches are usually large companies or organisations, and the data stolen may typically be sensitive, proprietary or confidential in nature e.g. credit card numbers, customer data, trade secrets or even matters of national security. Data breaches may be a result of cybercriminal activity, such as targeted attacks, or by complete accident/human error such as a misplaced business laptop or smartphone.

Where and when did the breach occur?

Barclaycard receive information about data breaches from multiple sources like Visa, Mastercard and law enforcement agencies.  Due to the sensitivity of the information, we don’t receive any details specific to the breach, so we’re unable to provide the name of the merchant or where the data breach has occurred.

How do we protect you when a data breach happens?

As soon as we receive information about a data breach, we’ll attempt to contact you to protect your account before any fraudulent activity takes place. We will send you a new card with a new card number that you will be able to use straight away.

Is it safe to use my new card?

Yes. Even if there are no fraudulent transactions on your account at the moment, we're replacing your card as a safety measure to help ensure that your account information is protected.  You can continue to use your current card until the new card arrives.  Your PIN stays the same, but you do have a new card number, so you’ll need to let any companies that take regular payments from your account know.

What can I do to protect my account?

• Check your account regularly to be sure that you recognise all the activity. If there are any transactions or activity you don’t recognise, contact us immediately
• Try to create a variety of passwords and PINs for accounts that you have. Make sure your passwords are strong and not easy to guess, using a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters
• Change your online password frequently
• Regularly check your credit file for any changes and don’t give personal details over the phone unless you’ve been able to positively identify the caller to be genuine