What the estate never asks for
Five requests that end the conversation. Any one of them means the message is not genuine.
A full banking password
No genuine message from the estate asks for a full online-banking password, in any format, for any reason.
A one-time passcode
Codes sent to your phone or email authorise actions on your accounts. The estate never asks you to read one out or forward one.
A move to a personal chat app
Account matters stay on official channels. A request to continue on WhatsApp, Telegram or a personal number is a warning sign.
An upfront fee to release money
No genuine loan from the estate requires a fee, deposit or 'insurance payment' before funds are released.
Payment to a changed bank account
A message announcing new bank details for payments should be treated as fraudulent until confirmed through a known contact route.
Patterns around the requests
Pressure is part of the design: a deadline measured in minutes, a consequence for checking, a reason the usual contact route cannot be used. Genuine account problems survive a phone call to a published number.
Payment redirection is the highest-value version. An invoice or settlement message announcing changed bank details deserves a call to a number you already hold, not a reply to the message.
The positive test
A genuine estate message will come from a domain in the official register, will not ask for any of the five items above, and will survive being verified through credicorp.co.uk or the published phone line.