Scammers have discovered FaceTime - and they're using it to empty bank accounts

Your phone lights up with a FaceTime call. The screen says it's your bank's fraud team, calling because someone just tried to drain your account. It feels real - FaceTime is where family and friends call, not strangers - and that's exactly why scammers have moved in.

Security researchers and consumer advocates spent this past week warning about a surge in FaceTime fraud. A criminal rings out of the blue posing as your bank, as "Apple support," or even a government official, invents an urgent problem, then walks you into handing over the keys: your password, a one-time verification code, your online-banking login, or a request to share your screen or install remote-access software. Some push victims to move money "to keep it safe" or to buy gift cards and read out the numbers. No malware is involved at all - the whole thing runs on trust and panic.

The rule that ends it: a real bank, Apple or Microsoft will never call you unprompted and ask for a password, a code, or control of your device. If you get one of these calls, hang up. If you're worried it might be genuine, reach the company yourself using the number on the back of your card or their official app - never a number or link the caller hands you. Switching on Silence Unknown Callers on your iPhone stops most of these cold, and you can report FaceTime scams to Apple at reportfacetimefraud@apple.com.

This is a phone-and-wallet scam, so the real defence is recognising the pattern - worth passing on to older relatives especially. Tendvane keeps the PC side of your life healthy; this one comes down to a single habit: hang up, and call back on a number you already trust.