- Short code
- 159
- Type
- Short dial code
- Operated by
- Stop Scams UK
- Cost
- Varies by provider, often a national-rate call
- Category
- Reporting scams and getting help
- Verified
- 13 August 2026
What 159 is for
159 works like 101 for the police or 111 for the NHS. Launched in 2021, it now reaches the fraud teams behind more than 99% of UK retail bank current accounts - including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Halifax, NatWest, Nationwide, Santander, Monzo, Starling, TSB, Revolut, Chase and Virgin Money.
The point is the hang-up. A scammer who has you on the line cannot follow you onto a call you dial yourself, and 159 is short enough to remember under pressure.
159 will never call you. Only a fraudster would object to you hanging up and calling it.
What it costs
Varies by provider, often a national-rate call. Stop Scams UK says the cost depends on your phone provider and in many cases is the same as a national-rate call - ask your provider.
Call 159 — how it works
- Stop. Hang up on the caller completely.
- Dial 159 from the same phone. Choose your bank from the menu.
- If your bank is not on 159, use the number on the back of your card - never a number the caller gave you.
Is 159 safe, and is it spoofed?
159 cannot be spoofed or impersonated, which is the whole reason it exists. The number that called you, however, can be anything at all: caller ID is trivially faked, including your bank's real published number.
If a text or call is trying to rush you, threaten you, or get a password, one-time code or payment out of you, it is a scam whatever number it shows. Read our guide to the UK number ranges scammers use and how to spot a smishing text, and forward anything suspicious free to 7726.
Where this came from
We do not guess short codes. Every entry in this directory was checked against the organisation that runs the code, or against gov.uk or the regulator:
- Stop Scams UK – 159 phone number
- Stop Scams UK – Stop, hang up, call 159
- Three – Pay As You Go price guide (October 2025)
Checked against these sources on 13 August 2026. Short codes and their charges do change — if the operator’s page now says something different, believe the operator.
Checking an ordinary number instead
Short codes are not in Ofcom’s numbering data — only full UK numbers are. If it is a normal 01, 02, 03, 07, 08 or 09 number you want to identify, put it into the phone number checker and you will get its type, its area and the provider Ofcom allocated the range to.
Other UK short codes
All verified UK short codes › · UK area codes › · UK network operators ›