"Halifax" Scam?

[Deleted User]

This afternoon my mum said she'd had a phone call yesterday from a man at the Halifax. He said he was ringing because the government has told the banks that they have to give back the tax that they have wrongly been taking from customers, and told mum that she was due £400. At first I started quizzing her about what tax, what government order etc, and then the penny dropped:
"You didn't give him any details, did you?" I asked.
Sure enough she'd given him card numbers, account numbers, maiden name, everything bar her pin no! She thought he was genuine because he said he was from the Halifax, and knew her name.
"Ring the bank, NOW" I said.
Three quarters of an hour on the blower, and they'd put a stop on all her accounts. Has anyone else had this one? The guy was calling himself Mike Johnson.

poppasgirl

no but i was aware of this scam and they have been targeting barclays customers, you dsid the right thing phoning the bank.

never give any information over the phone and if this person is genuine then the bank will confirm it.

i hope no money goes from the account and you were quick enough to stop it, well done on acting so quick

[Deleted User]

No money gone, probably because she didn't give her PIN.

McKneff

No pin is required for on line banking. Pin nos are only used in ATMs or shops.

If he had the details as you say he could transfer out of her account and into his. Hopefully you dealt with it fast enough and there are no repercussions.

Bet she doesnt do it again.!!!!!

[Deleted User]

McKneff wrote: »

No pin is required for on line banking. Pin nos are only used in ATMs or shops.

It's not an online account, she hasn't got a computer. You need a PIN to get to the telephone banking system though. At first I had to speak to the new account sales office because mum couldn't remember her PIN, and that was the only line I could get without it. Curiously, they told me to ring back on Monday, as the fraud line is closed at the weekend! After she remembered her PIN she got through to the telebanking line who closed her account there and then.

I just started the thread to see if anyone else recognised the scammers, but it seems not.

melorablack

jack_pott wrote: »

It's not an online account, she hasn't got a computer. You need a PIN to get to the telephone banking system though. At first I had to speak to the new account sales office because mum couldn't remember her PIN, and that was the only line I could get without it. Curiously, they told me to ring back on Monday, as the fraud line is closed at the weekend! After she remembered her PIN she got through to the telebanking line who closed her account there and then.

I just started the thread to see if anyone else recognised the scammers, but it seems not.

I think what the other poster was trying to say was that they can still use her details online without the PIN, not that they will get into her online banking (as she doesn't have it) but they could still buy stuff online etc...

marleyboy

What is meant, is even without the pin, they have enough details to "clean out" her bank a\c.

Thankfully you managed to get her to slam the brakes on just in time, but of course it means changing her cards n account details, and hopefully taught her a lesson in who to trust with such information. Good on you.

[Deleted User]

I'm not familiar with Halifax, but with some banks you have to register first before you can use an a/c online.
It seems that everything was still there when they stopped the a/c on Sat afternoon, so perhaps the lack of a PIN held them up long enough for me to discover what had happened.

tiamaria

My elerly mum has had similar calls to this, they started offering her tax back from her Barclays account, they knew her name, address and wanted her banking details. She wouldn't give them out and since then they continually harrass her, offering tax back of different denominations.

They've tried different tacts since then,most recently she's had loads of calls where the caller just hangs up, & strangely (not) she's now had a call asking her for her card details to stop nuisance calls.

It is getting very annoying now, personally I wish she wouldn't even enter into a conversation with them, though I'm glad she didn't hand over any card details.