Safe banking — how to recognize fraud

This guide helps you use Juuli safely. It explains the most common types of fraud in plain language, how to recognize them, and what to do if something has already gone wrong.

What Juuli will never ask you for

Juuli will never ask you for your password or your two-factor (email) code.
Juuli will never phone you to ask for security information, and will never ask for your login code or security details by email, SMS, WhatsApp or social media.
Juuli will never ask you to move your money to a "safe account".

Any message or call asking for this is a scam — don't respond, and let us know.

One exception you should know: for an online card payment you started, we may send a one-time 3DS code to your phone by SMS. Enter it only on the payment page — never read it out or share it with anyone who asks.

How to recognize the real Juuli

Fraudsters copy brands. These are the only channels we use:

Website: juuli.com and its subdomains
Your account: app.juuli.com
Help Center: support.juuli.com
Email: only addresses ending in @juuli.com — for support, support@juuli.com

Look-alike domains (an extra word, a hyphen, a swapped letter, a different ending) are a common trick. If you are unsure about a link, don't click it — type juuli.com into your browser yourself and sign in from there.

Scams that trick you into paying

In these scams nobody breaks into your account. You are persuaded to send the money yourself, which is what makes them so damaging — and so hard to reverse. Slow down whenever a payment feels urgent.

Invoice redirection and business email compromise (BEC)

This is the scam most likely to affect freelancers and businesses. A fraudster gets access to — or convincingly imitates — an email conversation between you and a client or supplier. At the moment an invoice is due, a message arrives saying the bank details have changed, with a new IBAN. The invoice looks familiar because it usually is: the wording, the logo and the thread history are genuine.

Warning signs:

Bank details change part-way through a conversation, especially close to the payment date.
The reply-to address differs from the sender by a character or two, or the domain is subtly different.
The new IBAN is in a different country from the business you are paying.
You are pushed to pay quickly, or asked to keep the change off the phone.

What to do: never accept a change of bank details by email alone. Confirm it by calling a number you already had for that company — not a number written in the new email. Treat a bank-details change as a red flag by default, even in a thread you trust.

How Juuli helps: when you send a SEPA transfer we apply Verification of Payee — a check of the recipient's name against the account details. If the name does not match, stop and verify before continuing. Do not dismiss that warning to get a payment out on time.

Romance and long-term relationship scams

These begin as a genuine-feeling relationship, often on a dating app or social media — sometimes with an out-of-the-blue "wrong number" message. Contact builds over weeks or months before money is ever mentioned. By the time it is, the relationship feels real, which is exactly the point.

Warning signs:

They never meet in person and always have a reason to avoid a video call.
They move you off the original app to a private chat quickly.
Strong feelings are declared unusually fast, and you are asked to keep the relationship private.
The first request is small and easy to say yes to; later ones grow.
A crisis appears — a medical bill, a travel or customs fee, a frozen account.
They offer to help you invest, often in crypto or forex, on a platform they introduce you to.

The investment variant: you are shown a platform where your balance appears to grow. Small withdrawals may even succeed at first. When you try to take out a meaningful amount, new "fees", "taxes" or "verification deposits" are demanded. The balance was never real.

What to do: never send money to someone you have not met in person, however long you have been talking. Search their photos with a reverse image search — stolen pictures are common. Tell someone you trust what is happening; secrecy is part of the method. And never let anyone use your account or ask you to receive and pass on money for them.

Juuli's Acceptable Use Policy does not allow cryptocurrency trading or personal and family remittances, so payments of this kind may be declined or reviewed in any case.

Fake payment requests and links

When you receive a payment request or link — especially from someone you don't know — check that the page it leads to is genuine. Fraudsters often use fake payment pages, and anything you enter goes straight to them. Never enter your account details on a link you don't trust.

Marketplace and second-hand fraud

Be careful with very attractive deals — if it sounds too good to be true, it usually isn't true. Check the market value of the item; a price that's far too low is a warning sign. Fraudsters may also send fake "€0.01 verification" payment requests to "check you're real" — these are usually fake. Research the site and the seller first.

Scams that try to take over your account

These aim at your login details, your card or your one-time codes.

Spoofing and help-desk fraud

Fraudsters can disguise an email address, phone number or caller ID to look like a trusted sender. They may call saying "there's suspicious activity, move your money to a safe account" or "confirm your login details". Juuli — and any bank — will never ask for your login details or tell you to move your money to another account.

Phishing

Fraudsters try to steal your passwords and security details using fake emails, messages and websites that look like your bank or a payment provider. The fake page's look and address are often almost identical to the real one. Don't follow messages that ask you to click a link and log in or to share your codes. If you're unsure a site is genuine, you can check when its domain was registered — a very recent registration can be a red flag.

Impersonation and WhatsApp fraud

Someone pretends to be a person you know (usually from a new number) and urgently asks you to pay a bill. Typical signs: new number, urgency, contact only via WhatsApp. Before sending money, reach the person another way and confirm; if you can't, don't send anything.

Shoulder surfing at payment terminals

When you enter your PIN at a payment terminal, make sure no one is watching and cover the keypad with your hand. Always keep your card somewhere safe.

Never let your account be used by someone else

Not everyone who gets caught up in fraud loses money — some are recruited into moving it. If anyone asks to use your Juuli account, or to receive a payment and pass it on, refuse, however the request is framed: a job offer, a commission, a favour for a partner, a friend who "can't open an account right now".

Doing this is known as acting as a money mule, and it is a criminal offence across the EU. The account is in your name, so the liability is yours — not the person who asked, and not the person whose money it was. Consequences include prosecution, and a fraud marker that can leave you unable to open an account or obtain credit for years.

What happens on Juuli. We monitor accounts for this pattern. Where we identify it, the account is restricted or closed, funds may be held, and we report the matter to the authorities and cooperate with their investigation. As set out in section 17 of the Terms of Service, a decision to close an account for compliance reasons cannot be appealed.

This is also how many romance scams end: once trust is built, you are asked to receive a payment and forward it on. Receiving money for someone else makes you part of the chain, whatever you were told — and being deceived yourself does not remove your liability.

What can and cannot be recovered

There are two different situations, and they are treated differently:

Someone used your account or card without your authorisation. Freeze the card yourself in the app immediately and tell us. Your rights, liability limits and the reporting time limit are set out in section 13 of the Terms of Service.
You authorised the payment yourself because you were deceived — as in invoice redirection, romance and investment scams. To the payment network this is a legitimate transfer that you instructed. We will always try to recall the funds, but money is often moved on within minutes, and recovery cannot be guaranteed.

That difference is why, for these scams, checking before you pay is the real protection.

What to do if something has gone wrong

Act quickly — the sooner a payment is reported, the better the chance of stopping or recalling it.
If a card is involved, freeze it immediately: Financial Accounts → Cards.
Contact us at support@juuli.com with the date, the amount and the recipient's details.
Report it to your local police or national fraud reporting service.
Stop all contact with the fraudster, and change your password if you shared any details.

Beware of recovery scams. People who have lost money are often approached again — by someone offering to get the funds back for an upfront fee, sometimes posing as a lawyer, an investigator or even Juuli. This is a second scam targeting the same victim. Juuli will never charge you a fee to investigate fraud on your account.

Still have questions? Email our support team at support@juuli.com — we're happy to help.