Is this text from Santander real?
Paste the web address from the message to see whether it belongs to Santander. Below: how Santander really contacts you, what the fakes look like and what to do.
How Santander really contacts you by SMS
Santander’s official domains:
- bancosantander.es
- santander.com
A real Santander message only takes you to these domains or to an address that ends in one of them, such as www.bancosantander.es. Any other address is fake.
What about the sender name?
NoCall’s data doesn’t record which sender name Santander uses, so we don’t list one. It wouldn’t settle the question anyway: a sender name can be faked, and a fake can land in the same conversation as Santander’s real messages.
What the fake Santander messages look like
Fake bank messages usually say that:
- your account or card has been blocked, or a suspicious payment was detected;
- you must verify your identity or cancel the payment through a link;
- someone from the bank will call you, or you must reply with a code.
And the link usually:
- contains “santander” but is a different domain, such as santander-[word].com or [word]-santander.[ending];
- is shortened (bit.ly, tinyurl.com and similar), so you can’t see where it goes;
- ends in an unusual extension, such as .top, .xyz or .click.
What to do
- Don’t tap the link and don’t reply to the message.
- If you want to check, open the Santander app or type its address yourself.
- If you tapped the link and entered card or bank details, call your bank right away to block them.
- If you entered passwords, change them and turn on two-step verification.
- Report the message and the number so that others are warned.
A name or a number on the screen proves nothing
Scammers can make a text message show a brand’s name or someone else’s number (spoofing), and the fake can even land in the same conversation as the real messages. What gives a fake away is where its link goes.
Other brands
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Which countries it covers
This page covers text messages that use Santander’s name in Spain. The official domains come from NoCall’s SMS rules.
We compare the address with the official domains in NoCall’s SMS rules. We never open the link.
Frequently asked questions
Does Santander send text messages?
We can’t confirm which messages Santander sends or under which sender name: our data doesn’t record it. What we can confirm is its official domains: bancosantander.es, santander.com. A link to any other address doesn’t come from Santander.
The text message came from “Santander”. Is it real?
Not necessarily. A sender name can be faked and can even appear among Santander’s real messages. Look at the link: if it doesn’t go to bancosantander.es, santander.com, it’s fake.
I tapped the link. What now?
If you didn’t enter anything, close the page and delete the message. If you entered card or bank details, call your bank right away; if you entered passwords, change them. Then report the message.