Scam Callers Are Asking Victims to Dial *21* on Their Own Phones

According to Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, a phone call claiming to be from a bank can end with the victim handing over control of their own phone line, without giving away a password or a PIN.

The caller, posing as bank security staff, says there is suspicious activity on the account or a problem with the phone itself. They may already know the victim's name, phone number or email address, which makes the call sound credible from the first sentence. Then comes the instruction: open the dial pad and enter a *21* code, followed by a phone number the caller supplies, supposedly to verify the device or secure the line.

What *21* actually does

That code does not verify anything. It switches on call forwarding. Every call meant for the victim, including the one their real bank makes later to check suspicious activity, now rings through to a number the criminal controls. The criminal answers pretending to be the account holder and uses personal or banking details already gathered to pass the bank's own security checks.

This is the step the whole scam depends on. The criminal does not need to steal a password in that first call. They need the victim to make one change to their own phone settings. Once forwarding is on, the bank's genuine verification call becomes a tool working against the account holder rather than for them.

No password was typed, no card was skimmed. The victim did the one action that mattered themselves, at the caller's instruction, believing it was a security check rather than the handover of their own phone line.

The tell

A bank will not ask a customer to activate call forwarding as part of a security check. That instruction, on its own, is the sign something is wrong. Banking and Payments Federation Ireland says to end the call if it comes, and never to use a number supplied by the caller or contained in an unexpected text or email. Call the bank back using the number on the back of a debit or credit card, or the number listed on the bank's own website.

Anyone who has already dialled a *21* code is advised to contact their bank immediately, contact their mobile provider to check whether call forwarding is switched on and get it turned off, tell the bank exactly what information was shared if any was, review the account for unrecognised transactions, and report the incident to An Garda Síochána.