Safe account scam
A caller posing as your bank, the police or a fraud team persuades you to move your own money into a "safe" account they control.
This is the single clearest rule on this site, and it has no exceptions: no bank, police force, tax authority or government agency will ever ask you to move money to a safe account. Not to protect it, not to catch a corrupt employee, not as part of an investigation you must keep secret.
The scam works because it inverts the victim’s defences. The caller is not asking for money; they are helping you protect it. Secrecy is built in — you are told not to discuss it with branch staff, because staff are supposedly under investigation. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre files this under “Bank Investigator”; UK Finance counts it under impersonation.
Where it shows up
- Bank impersonation and the safe account — A call from your bank's real number, telling you your money is at risk and must be moved somewhere safe.
- Government impersonation — A call from someone you are trained to obey, about a problem only immediate payment can fix.