Aw No - I think I just had a halifax scam call!

brody77

Hi all,

Just got in from work & got shouted that Halifax were on the phone for me.
Confused as I'm not their customer, I took the call.

Guy claimed they'd had an account application in my name, for my address (and with my home phone) but with a DOB of 2nd Sept 79.
He then said to me that wasn't what they had on file for me - they had (month) (year) and could I confirm the day?
Stupidly, I did. Then he said we have (forename) (initial)(surname) and asked me to give him what it stood for. Then the alarm bells went off. I said no as this sounded suspicious.
He then went on about how they would cancel the application & I'd get a letter out saying such, and also talking about some credit fraud prevention cover you can get?
He asked if I wanted to sign up to it over the phone, I declined.

Stupidly, as I'm not very big on dealing with calls, I didn't get his name or ddi.

I went through and talked to my dad, we both agreed it was dodgy, so I rang HBOS (another alarm bell, he said he was from Halifax, NOT Halifax Bank of Scotland.)
The girl confirmed they would never, ever, ever ask for that stuff & if I'd given any of it. Told her I'd stupidly given my birth day, she tried to get through to frauds dept but couldn't, so gave me a number to ring in the morning.

I've since gone online and changed my passwords everywhere to random things just in case, but I'm now totally paranoid.

I can't help wondering that I applied for a virgin credit card last week and then I get this call....

Should I go speak to the police or anything just in case? Worried this could be an attempt at identity theft.

Thanks in advance.

epsilondraconis

I wouldn't worry too much about it. People have ways of getting your birthday anyway. I would say that you were born in 1977 if your username is anything to go by.

I'm sure you'll be more careful in future.

If you don't already, shred everything that you throw away (with a cross shredder).

brody77

That's true I guess, got a pile for the shredder right now!

Thanks for that, feel a little calmer now!

BWZN93

If you are worried about your personal information may have been compromised it may well be worth taking out the CIFAS protective registration on yourself, it means that applying for credit may be slightly more difficult in future for you but on the plus side you, it means that it will also be difficult for another person to take out credit in your name. You can get more info here http://www.cifas.org.uk/default.asp?edit_id=565-85 - and im not linked in any way to cifas

Jo x

Jay974

I got a call a few weeks ago from someone claiming to be from Halifax. I refused to answer their questions and they hung up. The calls kept coming insisting that they wanted to speak to me about my product with them (even though i don't have any). I even called HBOS with the name of the person and the direct dial number they gave me. HBOS advisor said it was a clear case of fraud and not to speak to them again. After a couple of weeks, i got a call from someone at HBOS and asked me to confirm a few security details. They were asking for my DOB and postcode (all readilly available). Interested, i obliged. Seems they had been trying to contact me for a few weeks about my CC but i kept refusing to answer their security questions.

Anyway, i just thought i would point out that there are parts of HBOS insist on caling themselves Halifax and that the normal customer helplines don't seem to have the first clue about them.

brody77

I think it was that cifas thing the guy was trying to get me to take over the phone.

All I can really do is be vigilant I guess, and keep a close eye on my statements etc

M_Thomson

Jay974 wrote: »

I got a call a few weeks ago from someone claiming to be from Halifax. I refused to answer their questions and they hung up. The calls kept coming insisting that they wanted to speak to me about my product with them (even though i don't have any). I even called HBOS with the name of the person and the direct dial number they gave me. HBOS advisor said it was a clear case of fraud and not to speak to them again. After a couple of weeks, i got a call from someone at HBOS and asked me to confirm a few security details. They were asking for my DOB and postcode (all readilly available). Interested, i obliged. Seems they had been trying to contact me for a few weeks about my CC but i kept refusing to answer their security questions.

Anyway, i just thought i would point out that there are parts of HBOS insist on caling themselves Halifax and that the normal customer helplines don't seem to have the first clue about them.

HBOS is the name of the parent company only. It still uses various division names so it is'nt a case of them insisting on calling themselves Halifax they are calling from Halifax.

brody77

I guess if I don't receive the promised letter by the end of the week I know it was the phone call that was the scam & not the apparent application request.

Thanks for all the comments, much appreciated.

brody77

So I got a letter from "halifax" over the weekend, it was fully black & white & had a form with it asking me to fill out my personal details "for their records".

Took it into my local HBOS branch.
They kept the letter so they could speak to frauds about it & will call me today apparently.
The girl in the branch certainly though it was fake.

nzseries1

Thanks for the update, brody77.

brody77

Just another update folks - never heard back from HBOS, BUT I have now received an official, legit letter from HBOS saying my application to open a current account with Halifax has been declined.
Gonna apply for my credit report, pop into my branch & look into cifas now.
Don't want some scum using my identity.