Email Fraud

rabobankwarrior

Hi Everybody,

I could do with some advice. I am selling my motorbike online, and was contacted by a potential purchaser. We exchanged emails and a price was agreed. He was going to pay by bank transfer. I gave him my details. I have since learned that contact number he gave me is involved in existing online fraud cases. I rang the number and the ring tone tells me that he is abroad. He sounded possibly Nigerian.

The details I gave him were an email address, a mobile number, my sort code, account number, and my banks address and phone number.

I know I am a muppet, but can anybody tell me whether I have left myself open to fraud?

Please help.

olly300

If you are on any social networking site i.e. facebook, or can be googled then yes. As lots of people have their birth dates on the web and location meaning their address can be found.

I would personally go about getting a new current account asap, move all my direct debits over and close the old one down. Seems extreme but then you don't have a risk in 6 months to a year later someone helps themselves to your money.

Debt_Free_Chick

rabobankwarrior wrote: »

The details I gave him were an email address, a mobile number, my sort code, account number, and my banks address and phone number.

That information alone will not give him access to your bank account or anything else for that matter. Those bank details would be on a cheque so he has no more information than anyone in receipt of a cheque from you. If you have online banking, that information alone will not get access to your account.

However, given the suspicious circumstances of the "buyer", I agree with olly. Don't panic, but call your bank; explain the situation and ask them to open a new account for you.

VeLoCiTY

Hi Rabobankwarrior :hello:

I feel truely awful for you. Although I have never been in your position before- I can only imagine what worries you must be going through at the moment!

I would say that, yes- you have a major problem on your hands at the moment, but as I don't know much about this type of situation- I had a little look around the internet, and from what I can see, it is actually part of your banks' responsibility to help take care of this matter, by tracing all of the information and preventing the unthinkable from happening. Here is a link to a site which I hope will provide you with some information that will be of use to you. Try not to worry too much though, as long as you inform your bank ASAP they should be able to take care of it for you.

http://www.stop-idfraud.co.uk/guidance-for-fraud-victims.aspx

I really hope everything works out for you!

XxX

clueless1682

Had you not relaised that this buyer was dodgy, here's the likely senario.
You arranged for this person to buy your item. He transferred money direct to your bank and you send him his goods. However, the money you received won't have come from him, it will have come from another unsuspecting individual who will have had their account wiped out due to some sort of phising. You'll have spent the money, since you thought it was your money, then you're bank would advise you the money was stolen and ask you to pay it back - you'll not have your goods anymore and not have your money.
Sadly I work for a fraud dept for a bank and see this far too often, were people fall foul of scams and they end up looking like the bad guy.
Keep all emails you have from this guy as proof but as others have said, best to set up a new account and save yourself any trouble in future

MPH80

Or - here's the other scenario.

He pays up - but pays "too much" - it's his mistake and please send the remainder (say a few thousand) back to him via western union.

Again - after you send the money - the bank will reverse the transaction - leaving you down your goods and the few thousand pounds you sent on.

Admittedly - only seen this done with cheque fraud before - but could see how it could work on a bank transfer.

M.

rabobankwarrior

many thanks to everybody's replies. I will close my account on monday - fortunatley it is only an account I use for day to day cash - no direct debits or standing orders from this account. So hopefully I am safe from money scams, but what about ID theft???

LouisasMummy

I agree with MPH80, suddenly you will recieve a cheque over the amount you have sold for and will be asked to return funds. Cheque will be a fake, etc.

I have actually seen seller returning funds by bank transfer, lost thousands.

I worked for a bank for 17 years and you get to see some scary stuff.

Definately close your account, make sure you bank doesn't "re'direct" your transactions though.

Inactive

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

That information alone will not give him access to your bank account or anything else for that matter. Those bank details would be on a cheque so he has no more information than anyone in receipt of a cheque from you. If you have online banking, that information alone will not get access to your account.

.

Jeremy Clarkson thought that as well;

http://money.uk.msn.com/Banking/id-fraud/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7183409

ShelfStacker_3

Inactive wrote: »

Jeremy Clarkson thought that as well;

http://money.uk.msn.com/Banking/id-fraud/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7183409

Jeremy Clarkson is a well known (read: easily traceable) figure who published his own details in a national newspaper. The OP clearly isn't, and he gave his details to one other person, who WOULD find them next to useless (if we knew what bank he was with, we could tell him exactly how useless and to what degree). The chances are there, but very slim.

agsnu

Inactive wrote: »

Jeremy Clarkson thought that as well;

http://money.uk.msn.com/Banking/id-fraud/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7183409

The person reading the paper didn't actually get access to Clarkson's bank account though, did they? They only managed to set up a transfer to the British Diabetic Association, which is no use if they were actually looking to defraud him.

The Direct Debit guarantee would also cover this eventuality, as you would not have authorised the mandate.