The phone rings. On the other end, a calm, professional voice says it is calling from Abanca’s security department. It knows your name, sometimes the last few digits of your card, and warns you about a charge you don’t recognise or an odd login to your account. You need to act now, it insists: move your balance to a “safe account”, or read out the code that has just arrived by text.
It is worth saying plainly from the outset. Abanca does not make that call. Whoever does is a criminal impersonating the bank, and everything that follows is designed to stop you having time to think.
How the call sounds
The script barely changes. First, the alarm: a charge for a specific amount you never made, a login attempt from another device, the card “blocked for security”. Then the fake rescue: since your account has been compromised — so they say — it has to be put out of harm’s way. And then comes the request that gives the whole thing away. That you move your money to another account “in the bank’s name” while the incident is sorted out, or that you read aloud the verification code they have sent you by message.
Often the call does not come out of the blue. It is preceded by a text impersonating Abanca, so that by the time the phone rings you are already uneasy and inclined to believe. It is the same machinery, in two acts.
Why it seems so convincing
Because it is built to be. The caller knowing your name means nothing: personal data circulates after leaks and breaches that have nothing to do with the bank, and very little is needed to feign an existing relationship. The same goes for the number on your screen. Through spoofing, a fraudster can make Abanca’s official number show up on your phone, and even slot the fake text into the same thread as the bank’s genuine messages. Seeing the right number proves absolutely nothing.
On top of that comes the usual lever: urgency. The rush, the fear of losing your money and the authority of someone who sounds like a bank employee are all calculated to make you react before you reason. It is no accident that it works. According to INCIBE’s 2024 Cybersecurity Review, its 017 helpline handled 98,546 enquiries that year — 21.8% more than in 2023 — 14% of those who turned to it did so over some form of digital identity impersonation, and 33% of users had received a phishing, vishing or smishing attempt. INCIBE has also issued specific warnings about campaigns impersonating Abanca.
What Abanca will never ask you for
This is the point that lets you end the call without hesitating. The bank itself says so on its security page, and INCIBE and independent fact-checkers confirm it: Abanca will never ask you for your credentials. Specifically, by phone, text or email Abanca will not ask you for:
- Your login credentials, your PIN, the card number or CVV, or any verification code received by text.
- That you move or transfer your money to another account, whatever the reason or the name given to it (“safe account”, “bridge account”, “bank account”).
- That you install an app or tap a link on its instructions while you are on the phone.
The rule is simple: if a call asks you for any of these things, you are not speaking to your bank. Legitimate authentication happens inside the official app, or by typing abanca.com into the browser yourself, never because someone dictates it to you over the phone.
What to do if they are calling you right now
Hang up. Don’t explain yourself, don’t hand over any information, and don’t stay on the line to “check” anything with the caller. Don’t call back the number shown on your screen, because it may be spoofed.
If you want peace of mind, verify it yourself: call the number on the back of your card or Abanca’s fraud and security line, staffed 24 hours — 900 815 525 in Spain, (+34) 981 910 525 from abroad — or log in through the official app. You dial, you control the channel. And if you are still unsure whether a message or a call was genuine, INCIBE runs the free 017 line for queries.
Keep whatever you have: screenshots of the earlier text, the time of the call, the number they contacted you from. If you didn’t hand over any information, marking the message as spam and deleting it is enough.
We explain in more detail what to do about a scam impersonating your bank in our general guide to impersonation.
If you have already moved the money or read out the code
Don’t panic, but don’t let it slide either. If you have already made the transfer or read out the code, don’t give the money up for lost: reacting in time matters, and every hour that passes counts against you. The sensible thing is to put yourself in the hands of a solicitor who knows this ground as soon as possible, rather than making decisions on your own with the fright still fresh.
As for whether that money can be recovered — which is what you really want to know — in many cases it can. We cover it in does the bank have to give my money back after a phishing scam?.
At Perseus & RC Abogados we handle cybercrime and impersonation fraud in A Coruña. If it has happened to you, talk to us without waiting.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if the call “from Abanca” is a scam?
By what they ask for. Abanca will never ask you over the phone for your credentials, your PIN, your card details or a verification code, and it will never ask you to move your money to another account. If any of those requests comes up in the call, it isn’t the bank: it’s someone impersonating it.
Abanca’s real number showed on my screen. Doesn’t that prove it was the bank?
No. Fraudsters can fake the number that shows up and even slip their text into the thread with the bank’s real messages. Seeing the number or the name proves nothing; trust only the channel you start yourself.
I have doubts in the middle of the call. What do I do?
Hang up and check it yourself, without using the number shown. Call the number on the back of your card or Abanca’s official line, or log in through the official app. A genuine bank has no problem with you hanging up and calling it back on your own.
I’ve already given the code or made the transfer. Is it too late?
Don’t give it up for lost. Time is running and acting soon matters, so the wise move is to put yourself in the hands of a solicitor as soon as possible rather than waiting to see what happens.