How will N26 contact you?

Telling the difference between real and fake messages can be tough. Keep reading for a side-by-side comparison showing exactly how we’ll communicate with you — and how we won’t.

If you receive a cold call from N26 – it is a scam. 

N26 will never contact you unprompted via phone. If a phone call is necessary, we’ll always use the Secure Message feature in your N26 app to set it up before contacting you.

Fake phone call: 

• Requests for your account information or personal details
• Any call about fraudulent transactions
• Any call from a “fraud prevention team, agent or specialist”
• Any cold call claiming to be N26 — period.

Legitimate N26 phone call: 

• If we need to speak with you on the phone, we’ll make arrangements first using the Secure Message feature in your N26 app.

When N26 uses text messages, the primary purpose is to send you verification codes. These codes are meant for you to enter directly in the N26 app, or via a Support Chat with a N26 Customer Support representative. We’ll never ask you to share these verification codes via email or social media. We may also send an SMS to inform you of changes to your personal data, which will always redirect you to get in touch with Customer Support via your banking app.  N26 will also never send you clickable links or demands via SMS, ask you to download any software or install an app, or contact you via WhatsApp. 

Fake text message:

• WhatsApp messages of any kind — N26 will never contact you via WhatsApp!
• “Urgent” messages saying that you need to take action on your account, or respond with account details or personal information
• Any kind of suspicious link or download request

Click here (new tab) to see an example.

Legitimate N26 text message

• An SMS verification code for logging in to your account, confirming an action in the N26 app or with Customer Support changing your account details, like adding a new phone number
• A message to inform you about changes to your personal data. If this occurs, you will be asked to contact Customer Support via the N26 app for any issues.

Click here (new tab) and here (new tab) to see an example.

Email communication from N26 will only take these two forms: 

• Marketing emails from newsletter@email.n26.com to inform you about new products or articles
• Alerts from noreply@n26.com or noreply@email.n26.com about important messages in the Messages section of your N26 app, data changes, surveys, or notifications about account security
• Contact ‌support@n26.com via email in case you don’t have access to your N26 account  

If we have any sensitive requests requiring your attention, we’ll contact you via the in-app Messages from N26 feature. You’ll receive an email letting you know that there’s a new message in your in-app inbox, plus a push notification if you have them enabled. That’s it! 

A few other things to know: N26 will never request information from you via email, ask you to respond to an email with any personal data, or send you links to download anything. Be suspicious of emails that try any of those tactics.

Fake emails

• Asks you to respond with sensitive or personal information 
• Urgent or threatening language that demands you take immediate action
• Generic greetings like "Dear N26 Customer"
• May contain misspelled words or strange phrases
• Comes from a suspicious address with a mixture of capital and lower-case letters and numbers
• Fraudsters can easily spoof the email address — it might look like it comes from support@n26.com. If you get an email that looks like it comes from Support but it asks you for personal information, it’s a scam. 

Click here (new tab) and here (new tab) to see an example.

Legitimate N26 emails

• N26 will never request sensitive or personal information via email. Any request for information will direct you to login via the N26 application.
• Sent via the Message feature in the N26 app
• Personal greeting using your first name 
• Clear and easy to read
• The sender should always be support@n26.com, noreply@n26.com or noreply@email.n26.com. Or, if you’re signed up for marketing communication, that address will be: newsletter@email.n26.com. 

Click here (new tab) to see an example.

Our website URL is n26.com and our support page is support.n26.com. Some email or SMS phishing scams will use fake URLs that look similar, but they don’t belong to N26. Here are a few ways to check for fakes:

• Simply hover over the link — without clicking on it! — with your cursor so that the web address appears at the bottom left-hand corner of your screen. Watch out for unusual characters in the URL.
• Google the URL or domain, or check websites like “urlscan.io” to see if the URL has been tagged as fraudulent. 

Look for the padlock symbol that indicates a secure connection — it’s located next to the website URL in your browser window. Click on the padlock to verify the website credentials, or to check if the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate is valid and who it was issued to.

Fake website

• A URL that doesn’t contain “n26”
• Extra long URLs
• URLs with odd characters

Here are examples of fake N26 URLs:

• http://n26-webapp-online.preview-domain.com
• https://n26.com.simply.site 
• https://n26contact.com/

Legitimate N26 website

• Our website URL is n26.com. 
• Our support page is support.n26.com. 
• Our online banking app is app.n26.com/login
• These URLs may have simple additions to indicate the country, language, or page topic.

Here are some examples of legitimate N26 URLs: 

• n26.com/en-fr
• n26.com/en-de/bank-account-switching
• https://support.n26.com/en-eu/app-and-features/spaces/what-are-cards-for-spaces

Scammers are smart. That’s why it’s important to be vigilant about protecting yourself and your personal information. Here are 11 more tips on how to do that. 

1. Keep your N26 app and computer updated with the latest updates and bug fixes.
2. Use fingerprint or facial recognition to log in to your account.
3. Create strong passwords with letters, numbers, and symbols — and never use the same one across multiple accounts.
4. Always look carefully at where emails come from if they’re requesting something from you. Pay especially close attention to the sender’s details and to any URLs that seem suspicious.
5. Be careful with public or shared WIFI connections — always choose secure WPA2 connections over WEP connections and use a VPN where possible.
6. Enable location tracking on your N26 app, so we can spot irregular transactions that you may not have made.
7. If a message sounds urgent, take your time and don’t be pressured into taking immediate action. Instilling a sense of panic or even excitement is one of the most common social engineering tactics that scammers rely on. They want people to act first and think later.
8. Remember: If an offer — online or offline — seems too good to be true, it probably is. 
9. Use multi-factor-authentication (also known as 2-Factor Authentication or 2FA), which uses your smartphone or another device to confirm your access to your accounts.
10. Always double-check links sent in emails. When in doubt, search online for the website rather than clicking on the link itself.
11. Never download files, share personal information, or click on links from unknown senders.