Fraud...please help....

Blonde19

Dear All,

I wonder if anyone can help......two days ago my mother who lives in Spain checked her bank statement and saw a transaction going out for £500.00. It turns out that the amount was for lots of ipods, 20 in fact that she did not order. She has been scammed and we think someone must have got her bank details when she came to visit me in London.

She is really upset and I dont know what to tell her, should she contact the police or dont they bother with small amounts like this and will she ever get her money back? :-(

Thanks
Blonde19

Blonde19

can anyone help, we are so stressed about this!!!

Thanks
Blonde19

BASFORDLAD

Tell her to speak to her bank...

missm29

Has she told her bank? so they can stop her card and issue a new one.

duggie1982

Stop the card the bank protects unautherised tranactions as long as her PIN was not used so she should get her money back. Also see what 'shop' the charge was for, phone them to stop the order if its not to late

never-in-doubt

hang on, if you're getting 20 iPods for as little as £500 (i.e. £25 each) then keep them and sell on eBay! But the general gist here is that your mums bank will deal with this and she is only liable for the first £50... assuming its a UK bank and not a local one in spain of course...

BASFORDLAD

Gary cooper likes getting cheap stuff of Ebay, where is he when you need him?

Blonde19

I am afraid it was her bank in Spain and not in the UK......they also sent the goods to an address in London?

Thanks
Blonde19

Ruthie5

I've just found out that my debit card has been cloned...I'm not quite sure what that means, am going to google it. The important thing is to contact the bank straight away and they will stop the card. They will then refer you on to their fraud team who (presumably!) will investigate. I understand the liabilities are lmited too, but I don't know for what amount.

ILW

Blonde19 wrote: »

I am afraid it was her bank in Spain and not in the UK......they also sent the goods to an address in London?

Thanks
Blonde19

OK but she needs to speak to them immediately, if not she may be considered not to be doing all she can and may become liable to this and any future transactions.

James

(Cut, pasted but most of it is applicable to you).

The good news is under the Banking Code (12.12)you should get your money back - unless you’ve been negligent with your PIN (seems unlikely in this case – see below), or you have acted fraudulently or (the crunch) without reasonable care. The bad news is that more and more banks are refusing to cough up and reimburse victims.

What I’d do now and why: [Keep an accurate record of all phone calls, who you speak to etc, like wise emails or letters]

Report this to the Police and get a crime reference or incident number.

Why?

By reporting this to the Police it will help convince the Bank your really are a victim, and in your case serious.

Allows early intervention by the police if ATMs or shops PIN Pads have been tampered with. It may also point to a data breach. But don't expect the police to investigate.

Follow up your original phone call and visit to Bank with a letter and put everything in writing soonest. (Keep a copy, send letter recorded and request a receipt).

In the letter give your card issuer the Crime Ref or Incident No.

Ask your bank how the crime was perpetrated i.e. using your Card Details, or if your Card was Cloned and the transactions authorised with your PIN or a Signature.

Why?

The letter will prove you reported the crime as soon as you noticed it.

By asking how the crime was perpetrated will allow you to take the necessary steps to protect yourself from further frauds.

Good luck.


PS: You may even be the victim of ID Theft - you can take steps to protect yourself here too.

Click here.

You should also check your credit files FREE from ALL 3 Credit Reference Agencies:

Call Credit (Click on Link to Annual Credit Report).

Equifax (Remembering to Cancel within the Free Tria Period)

Experian (Remembering to Cancel within the Free Trial Period).

Recent articles from the Press:

Chip & PaIN (The Independent)m

Don't Blame the Innocent Victims of Chip & PIN Fraud (The Times)

Fightback Against Refusal To Pay out on Chip & PIN Fraud (The Times)

Good luck