Nationwide warns 'check' as people have money taken from accounts

Nationwide is urging its millions of members to check their accounts regularly after a spike in "old school" scams that have seen some customers conned out of their hard-earned cash. The world's biggest building society is warning "beware" amid of a hugely popular time for shopping.

Nationwide data has revealed the Monday before Black Friday led to a 25% spending surge last year, with this Friday, November 29, predicted to be the busiest on record. Nationwide also said it is seeing increasing cases of a "card not present" fraud, where a person's card details are stolen online or scanned.

Jim Winters, head of economic crime at Nationwide said: “Fraudsters will capitalise on any event and Black Friday is no exception. As our data shows, old school fraud hasn’t gone away and continues to be the most prevalent, meaning we all need to be extra vigilant at this time of year, whether spending online or in store.

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"While anyone subjected to ‘card not present’ fraud will generally be refunded, it’s extremely inconvenient and stressful, particularly around Christmas. That’s why it’s so important people check their accounts regularly, use safe and trusted sites and stop and think when you see a ridiculously good deal, as it's probably too good to be true.”

As well as regularly checking accounts, people are advised to avoid deals that seem too good to be true, and check if a website seems reputable or not. People are also warned never to share codes, such as one-time pin codes, with anyone else.

Nationwide has also told its members to avoid saving card details into websites you don't use regularly, be wary in public such as while entering your PIN or giving financial details over the phone, and to use Nationwide's Scam Checker service if ever in doubt.