Santander issues savings account warning and urges be 'smart'

Santander has issued a warning to savings accounts holders and urged them to be "smart". The high street banking giant, which is rivalled by the likes of NatWest, HSBC UK, Nationwide, Lloyds, Barclays and more, spoke out in an email to customers.

Writing to account holders, Santander asked: " Considering investing? Our Think Investments newsletter could help you decide." It said: " Investing could be a smarter way to grow your savings over the long-term. The latest edition of our Think Investment newsletter can help you navigate around the world of investments, and help you decide if investing is for you."

It added: "When considering investing, be mindful that your money can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a guide to future performance and it's possible you may get back less than you invest. While you can access your money at anytime, please only consider investing money you won’t need for at least 5 years."

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Santander went on: "So you know that an email is genuinely from us, we'll address it to you personally, include the last 4 digits of your account or card number, or the last 3 characters of your postcode. We will never ask you to log on to Online or Mobile Banking through a link and never ask for your personal information, such as passwords or security details.

"If you get an email that's suspicious or doesn't follow the rules above then please forward it to phishing@santander.co.uk. To protect yourself against fraud and scams, never share a Santander One Time Passcode (OTP) with another person.

"Not even a Santander employee. Never move your money to a new account for security reasons. If you’re asked to do this, it will be a scam. Never take things at face value. Criminals pretend to be people you trust.

"Always make sure you really know who you’re talking to."