[Help] New bank fraud - advice sought

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Good to hear. Hope it all works out, I'm sure the Lloyds fraud dept will step up to the plate, you'll probably have to put in writing all the disputed transactions. If they still end up playing hardball then there is always the Banking Ombudsman to defer to - mention that and they'll likely fold and give your sons money back I'd expect.

Cheers, Easy. Mrs T has also mentioned these options to me, she being a tad more savvy in the world of ******** than me (I simply rarely engage with any fugger).

Thanks for your engagement

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

As you've already alluded to - it's now down to the bank to provide full detail on how the transactions were authorised, by whom and on what number.

I've very recent experience (last week) of a legit example of this...

I received a text from Nat West regarding some transactions on my business account:

"We need to verify some recent transactions on your debit card, which is now blocked. We will send you a message from XXXXXXXXXX with the transaction details for you to check."

I then received a text listing several transactions from the number above (XXXXed out). They were not me. I replied to the text with 'N' to indicate this.

I immediately received the following text:

"You've confirmed you did not recognise the attempted payments(s).Your card is blocked for your protection and we will call you back on this number."

I was called a few hours later by someone on Nat West's anti-fraud team, we went over the same transactions, I confirmed again they were not me. They cancelled my card and set me a new one.​

This all sounds very similar to what you've described but was all legit, ie it was the bank and everything was above board.

Thanks mate. Appreciated.

 

[sparkie]

As you've already alluded to - it's now down to the bank to provide full detail on how the transactions were authorised, by whom and on what number.

I've very recent experience (last week) of a legit example of this...

I received a text from Nat West regarding some transactions on my business account:

"We need to verify some recent transactions on your debit card, which is now blocked. We will send you a message from XXXXXXXXXX with the transaction details for you to check."

I then received a text listing several transactions from the number above (XXXXed out). They were not me. I replied to the text with 'N' to indicate this.

I immediately received the following text:

"You've confirmed you did not recognise the attempted payments(s).Your card is blocked for your protection and we will call you back on this number."

I was called a few hours later by someone on Nat West's anti-fraud team, we went over the same transactions, I confirmed again they were not me. They cancelled my card and set me a new one.​

This all sounds very similar to what you've described but was all legit, ie it was the bank and everything was above board.

On the Natwest mobile banking app you can activate and deactivate your cards at will. I generally deactivate them overnight or if I am in for the evening or at work.

 

[Boroseagull]

Sorry to hear this. I may have misread but it seems someone got hold of your sons bank card and also knew his mobile number - sounds like someone he knows is involved. Forgive me if I've misunderstood the OP.

 

[Dorset Seagull]

I'd end the call and check my accounts online straight away. Anything untoward, and I'd call one of their published customer care numbers. Taking a call at face value about your bank and divulging details in this day and age is bonkers.

Reminds me of this though

[yt]bOOH1-N3EcE[/yt]

The trouble is older people can be duped so easily. My 88 yr old mother in law had a call not long ago and was asked if she had a walking stick and how old she was. She told the caller and when we questioned her about who it was she said she didnt know!

She also rang me in a panic the other day because “Amazon” had rung her requesting the £400 she owed them and thought I had set her up with an account

Its difficult to make older vulnerable people understand that these are all scams. They grew up in a world where there was more respect for authority so assume that these calls are from genuine companies.

 

[southstandandy]

When I worked in the banking industry we would never call a customer direct. Clear scam in my view. If in any doubt hang up and phone your bank from a different line. You should get your money back as this is clearly against the banking code.

 

[knocky1]

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/fraud-scams

This lot will help him.

Santander sent me a £20,000 cheque from a closed account. It was intercepted and I had 3 moths fighting for the money and being investigated for fraud by their crime team. On the day my Mum died in the Martlets from lung cancer they admitted fault, paid back with £500 compensation after Ombudsman help.

Santander are ****s. Good luck for your son.

 

[Beach Hut]

Santander are ****s. Good luck for your son.

Santander are fine until you need to go to a branch and talk to someone, that is when it can horribly wrong.

 

[herecomesaregular]

OTP, apparently (6 digit pass code to enter online).

Son never spends over £100 a pop so he's not got one previously and was all 'what is this? '

Ok thanks, yeah I've received a few of them (legit). I guess if you've never done so then it can catch you out, as it did him. Getting frightening nowadays how much of this type of fraud is being attempted. Hopefully a good life lesson for him. It should be refunded by the bank, surely.
I get at least two calls a day from "Microsoft" or "about your recent accident". I've tried different approaches eg keeping them talking and wasting their time, being abusive calmly or angrily, hanging up without speaking. Just seem to get more now. Easy to block on the mobile but EE are rubbish re the landline and don't offer any free or specific easy number blocking. My tactic now is to be polite and go over to my hifi and turn it onto hi volume suddenly with the phone next to the speaker. Hope it deafens them. The fraudsters that try this on are some of the most despicable on the planet imo.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Hi @HWT. Very sorry to hear about that, the scummers are relentlessly inventive. This must be a recent scam, because the texted code to confirm a purchase bank routine, isn’t that old.

A warning to all about another scam now doing the rounds, I received this text this time yesterday:

View attachment 130426

Luckily I have no Halifax accounts, so knew it was from scammers.

Anyone with the Halifax making the mistake of clicking on the link, are taken to a legit looking Halifax bank portal. All your logon details and passwords are then gleaned by the crooks, who’ll strip the victim of everything in Halifax accounts.

I had that and ignored it, but I had to think about it as I have no Halifax accounts but had just taken (presumably white labelled) car insurance with them and the first payment had gone through about a week earlier. It's a very sophisticated attempt.

On a similar note I had a whatsapp from a mate this week that I've pasted below. He is a senior trader in The City and not likely to fall for chain letter scams. However, the use of English and exclamation marks left me in some doubt so I've just ignored it in terms of passing it on. Pasting it here probably does no harm though.

 

[Hugo Rune]

Thanks for sharing the scam. Very sophisticated. Most people would fall for that because of the immediate text message.

 

[knocky1]

Santander are fine until you need to go to a branch and talk to someone, that is when it can horribly wrong.

Mine was a postal account. Indian call centre until the Crime team got onto me from the Midlands. Went to George Street branch and the manager there was very supportive but unable to do anything beyond a character reference to me being an unlikely fraudster.

First Direct have been my main bank for 25 years and been 100% perfect.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Good to hear. Hope it all works out, I'm sure the Lloyds fraud dept will step up to the plate, you'll probably have to put in writing all the disputed transactions. If they still end up playing hardball then there is always the Banking Ombudsman to defer to - mention that and they'll likely fold and give your sons money back I'd expect.

This. Bank's fraud dept will have had a spate of similar cases recently, OP's son's experience will have been far from unique. And the Financial Ombudsman is always there as a fallback. Tho hopefully, as [MENTION=70]Easy 10[/MENTION] says, the bank's Fraud Dept will step up to the plate. Good luck to HWT and son!

 

[Official Old Man]

I don't sleep easy because of banks, all my money is under the mattress! Boom Boom.

My Mum is 86 and lives alone. I look after all her utilities, phone gas electric etc. She didn't tell me but recently had her debit card stolen and so it was cancelled, thus her electric went unpaid. First I knew was when she told me a debt collecting agency had called for an unpaid electric bill of £63. I told her I'd look into it but she then admitted that she had paid it over the phone! Obviously I was annoyed, especially when she said she knew she shouldn't be telling someone her details.
This just goes to show that no matter what the banks say, people will easily fall for these tricksters. Luckily for my Mum it was genuine.

 

[WATFORD zero]

The trouble is older people can be duped so easily. My 88 yr old mother in law had a call not long ago and was asked if she had a walking stick and how old she was. She told the caller and when we questioned her about who it was she said she didnt know!

She also rang me in a panic the other day because “Amazon” had rung her requesting the £400 she owed them and thought I had set her up with an account

Its difficult to make older vulnerable people understand that these are all scams. They grew up in a world where there was more respect for authority so assume that these calls are from genuine companies.

I have a mother of similar age. I pay all her bills for her so there are no DDs etc, and she is under strict instruction that if anybody from any organisation/company calls, she asks their name and company, tells them her son will call them back and hangs up. (I hope)

Only worry I have is, similar to HWT, grown up kids who wouldn't take kindly to similar instructions.

 

[Weststander]

First Direct have been my main bank for 25 years and been 100% perfect.

Same here, since they started.

Somehow, with their algorithms, in my experience they’ve always spotted frauds in real time, block my card without checking with me and a person from their fraud department calls.

I decline the call for obvious reasons and give them a call back on the normal number.

One more obvious attempted fraud was someone walking up and down a street with shops specialising in electronic equipment in Mumbay, trying to buy items with a cloned debit card.

My card had probably been cloned at a Brighton petrol station. Staff there had installed cloning equipment and a spycam in the ceiling above the pin keyboard location. This was later covered in the Argus, a couple of locals got convicted.

Similar story:
https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/1031496.card-clone-gang-could-net-25m/

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Can't fault Nat West fraud dept. On the two occasions some vermin went on a shopping spree at my expense, they were straight on the case. Just had to verify that each individual recent transaction was or wasn't mine, and the money was back in my account within 24 hours. If memory serves, they subsequently send out a paper copy in the post for you to confirm and sign, but no big deal because the transactions that aren't yours are invariably uber-chavy to the point of being laughable

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Thanks folks for your advice and kind comments. I have told the boy the following:

"First, contact the bank again and ask them to tell you who you are supposed to have bought things from. Then phone the vendors (just one my do) and ask them for the address they sent the goods. You can then pass the details to the police. I’d try to contact all the vendors because you may be able to stop them posting the goods. But you may find you get nowhere with this.

If the bank plays hard ball about reimbursement, contact the financial ombudsman. This is probably a new and frequent scam and they may well press the bank to reimburse you because the bank sending an OTP in the way it does, seconds after the attempted transaction, then passing the transaction immediately the fraudster types the OTP number, is clearly a security weakness."

Off to see the boy shortly. He's distraught, as you can imagine. Cheers. HWT.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Can't fault Nat West fraud dept. On the two occasions some vermin went on a shopping spree at my expense, they were straight on the case. Just had to verify that each individual recent transaction was or wasn't mine, and the money was back in my account within 24 hours. If memory serves, they subsequently send out a paper copy in the post for you to confirm and sign, but no big deal because the transactions that aren't yours are invariably uber-chavy to the point of being laughable

But what happens if you are a bit chavvy, how do you prove it then

(Asking for a friend)

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

I’ve worked in financial crime prevention for 20 plus years and my advice would be to only engage with the bank by contacting them via their official website contact details and do not engage directly with any outbound calls or texts.

Stronger Customer Authentication rules implemented recently have stopped a lot of this but financial criminals are very adaptable.

I would also consider contacting CIFAS and registering a protective registration with them, which will give you an extra layer of protection against impersonation fraud for the next 13 months.


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