IBAN or bank card in a breach: what to do?

Your IBAN or card number has leaked? The real risks, what to ask your bank and the deadlines for disputing a transaction.

Card number

Ask your bank to block the card and issue a new one. Watch your statements: in the European Union, a payment you did not authorise can be disputed with your bank, as a rule up to 13 months after the debit.

IBAN

An IBAN alone does not allow anyone to withdraw money, but it can be used to set up fraudulent direct debits or to make a fake bank call more convincing.

• Watch your direct debits, especially those from unknown organisations.
• Your bank can block direct debits from unknown creditors or only allow those you have listed.
• In the SEPA area, a direct debit you never authorised can be disputed with your bank, as a rule up to 13 months after the debit.

Fake advisers

After a leak of bank data, calls from fake advisers are common. Your bank will never ask you to approve a transaction or give a code to "secure" your account. Hang up and call your branch's usual number. More in phishing after a breach.