You have just hung up on someone from your bank’s supposed security department, and your app shows transfers you did not make, or that you made believing you were moving your money somewhere safe. From the moment you notify your Spanish bank, anything someone else does afterwards with your stolen card or credentials is at the bank’s expense unless you acted fraudulently, so every minute before you call counts against you. The law also requires the bank to offer a free way to report it at any hour, so do not wait for the branch to open.
My name is Luis Jurado Cano, lawyer number 6317 of the A Coruña Bar Association, and I wrote this page at Perseus & RC Abogados for people who contact us with the scam still under way. What comes afterwards, the claim against the bank and the criminal case, is on the main fraud page.
What to do now, in this order
- Call your bank on the fraud number in the table below or the one on the back of your card, never the number in the text message or the one that called you. Ask them to block anything pending and to contact the bank that received the transfer to try to hold or recover it before the scammer moves it on. Note the time and the case number, and confirm it in writing afterwards.
- Block your cards and your online banking access, in the app if you can still log in or during that same call. Ask for proof of the block, because the bank must give you a means of proving that you reported it for the following eighteen months.
- From another device, change the passwords for your online banking and for the email linked to your bank. If you were asked to install an app to control your phone or computer, disconnect that device from the internet and do not reset it. If your phone has suddenly lost signal, call your mobile provider from another phone, because someone may have obtained a duplicate of your SIM card.
- Delete nothing. Screenshot the text messages, the chat and the call log with the time and number you saw, download a statement showing the transactions, and write down what they told you and what you did.
- Report it the same day if you can, at a police station, a Guardia Civil post or the court, with the list of transactions, times, amounts and receiving accounts. You are entitled to free language assistance if you speak neither Spanish nor Galician, and to a copy of the report, which banks usually ask for. With the report the court can obtain the name of the holder of the receiving account and freeze what is left in it.
If you made the transfer yourself because you were persuaded your money was at risk, the order is the same, and what changes is what you can later claim from the bank, as I explain in bank fraud.
What not to do
Stop talking to the scammer, even if they call back with your bank’s number on the screen to say the transaction has been cancelled and they only need one more code. Any transfer they ask for to “cancel” or “protect” your money is part of the scam.
Over the following days someone may contact you posing as a law firm, a tracing company or even the police, offering to recover your money for an upfront fee. The police and the courts do not charge to investigate, and whoever asks for money to get yours back is usually the same scammer, as I explain in investment and cryptocurrency scams.
Spanish banks’ fraud numbers
These are the numbers each bank publishes on its official website to report fraud or block cards, checked on 27 September 2026 on the page each row links to. Numbers beginning with 900 are Spanish freephone lines, so if you are abroad use the number the bank gives for calls from outside Spain. If a number here differs from the one in your app or on the back of your card, trust those two.
| Bank | Phone | What the bank says it is for | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abanca | 900 815 525. From abroad, +34 981 910 525 | Fraud victims, 24 hours | abanca.com |
| Santander | 915 123 123 | Fraud, emergency service 24 hours | bancosantander.es |
| BBVA | 900 102 801 | Victims of fraud or cybercrime | bbva.es |
| CaixaBank | 938 87 25 25 or 900 40 40 90 | The first, fraud or scams, 24 hours. The second, customer service, 24 hours | caixabank.es, security and contact |
| Sabadell | 963 085 000. From abroad, +34 935 202 910 | Urgent help and card blocking, any day at any hour | bancsabadell.com |
| ING | No fraud line published. Check the app («SOS Fraude» button) or the back of your card | Its security page gives 91 206 66 66 as the customer line | ing.es |
| Unicaja | 952 250 023. Cards, 952 076 260 or 900 101 678 | Specialist fraud service and card blocking, 24 hours | unicajabanco.es |
| Openbank | 900 200 128. From abroad, +34 91 362 62 00 | Stolen card or fraud, 24 hours | openbank.es |
| Bankinter | 900 81 00 62. From abroad, +34 917 93 23 00 | Fraud service, 24 hours | bankinter.com |
| Kutxabank | 900 44 55 66. From abroad, +34 94 600 55 00 | Suspicious transactions or fraud | kutxabank.es |
| Revolut | +34 900 94 32 45 | Helpline, Spanish accounts only. Fraud is reported in the app, through its fraud form or the chat | revolut.com, contact and fraud |
Each bank has its own impersonation script, and I have written about each one, from the Abanca text message and phone call to the fake messages and calls from Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Sabadell, ING, Unicaja, Openbank, Bankinter, Kutxabank and Revolut.
How to reach me now
You can call me or message me on WhatsApp on +34 677 841 007 at any hour, in English. If you write, include your bank, the time and amount of each transaction and where the money went. Legal decisions, whether a police report is enough or a formal complaint (querella) is worth filing and what to claim from the bank and when, are made by a lawyer, and in fraud cases I make them. I will not promise that you will get the money back, because that depends on how it left your account and how fast things moved.
Where we are
Rúa Torreiro 13, 3.º C, 15001 A Coruña, Spain. Phone and WhatsApp +34 677 841 007. If you live elsewhere, I can see you by phone or video call, and you can send the documents beforehand on WhatsApp.
Related reading
- Scams impersonating your Spanish bank by text or phone call
- Does a Spanish bank have to refund my money after a phishing scam?
- Your child calls asking for money and it is not your child, voice cloning scams in Spain
Frequently asked questions
It is the middle of the night. Can I report it to the bank now?
Yes, do it now. Spanish law requires banks to offer a free way to report a lost or stolen card or unauthorised use at any time, and several of the banks in the table answer their fraud line 24 hours a day. Anything someone else does with your card or credentials after your report is at the bank's expense unless you acted fraudulently.
Can I cancel the transfer I made to the scammer?
Not by yourself once your bank has received the order, unless you scheduled it for a later date, in which case you can revoke it until the end of the previous business day. What you can do is ask your bank to request the money back from the receiving bank, as quickly as possible, because only what is still in that account can come back. A Bizum payment or an instant transfer arrives within seconds, and then the route is the police report.
My Spanish is not good. Can I still report the scam to the police?
Yes. As a victim you are entitled to free language assistance when you file the report if you speak neither Spanish nor Galician, and to a written translation of your copy of it. You are also entitled to a certified copy of the report, which banks usually ask for.
The scammer had me install an app on my phone. What do I do with it?
Disconnect it from the internet and do not reset it or take it for repair, because what that app left on the phone helps show that someone else made the transactions. Change your passwords from another device and tell the bank the scammer had access to your phone. Bring the phone to our first meeting as it is.
The bank has called again to say the transaction was cancelled. Should I trust it?
No. Hang up and call your bank yourself on the number in the table or on your card. That second call is often part of the same scam, asking for another code or a new transfer to confirm the cancellation, and seeing your bank's real number on the screen proves nothing because it can be faked.
My bank is not in the table. Where do I find the number?
On the back of your card, in your banking app or on the bank's website, typing the address yourself instead of clicking a link. Never use the number given in the text message, email or call that alarmed you.