Someone asking for your code
Last reviewed:
A code arrives on your phone, and a moment later someone asks you to send it to them. It might be a “friend” on WhatsApp who sent it to you “by mistake”, a caller from your “bank” who needs it to “cancel a payment”, or a buyer on a selling site who wants to “verify” you. That code is the key to your account: with it, they sign in as you or approve a payment.
What it looks like
Hi! Sorry, I sent a 6-digit code to your phone by accident. Can you send it back to me? It's urgent 🙏
A made-up example. Every name, number and link here is fictional.
The tell
No real company, and no real friend, ever needs the sign-in code sent to your phone. The code is only for you to type into the app yourself.
Other signs
- The code arrives just before the message asking for it.
- The message comes from a friend's account that is acting strangely, or from a new number.
- A caller says they are from your bank and need the code “to stop” a payment. Codes approve payments, they don't stop them.
- The text with the code usually says “Don't share this code with anyone” itself.
What to do
- Never send the code to anyone, by message or on a call.
- If a friend's account asked, call them on the number you already have: their account has probably been taken over.
- If you shared it, open the app now, sign out of other devices, change your password and turn on two-step sign-in (a PIN for WhatsApp).
If you already replied, tapped or paid
- Call your bank straight away, on the number on your card (or 159 in the UK). Banks can sometimes stop or recover a payment if they hear quickly.
- Change any password you typed in, on the real site, and turn on two-step sign-in.
- Report it (below), and keep the messages and receipts.
- Be careful of anyone who then offers to get your money back for a fee. That is a second scam.
- Don't feel ashamed. Scams are written by professionals and fool careful people every day.
Report it
- In the UK: forward scam texts free to 7726, and scam emails to [email protected].
- Report fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040 (in Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101).
- Elsewhere: your country's police or consumer protection service.
Sources
The advice here follows these official UK pages:
Practise spotting it
In Scam Town you get letters, texts and calls like these, decide which are real, and see the tell after every answer. You can also build scams yourself from ready-made pieces, which is the fastest way to learn how they work. It's free and plays in your browser.
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