Advice needed proving identity fraud

Martin4PrimeMinister

Hi,

Some nasty piece of work has recently started an account for a mobile phone on O2 using my bank details. They have run up a a bill in the hundreds and O2 expect me to pay it. I have had an account with them for a few months that i pay with Direct Debit. This new account is billed through the post. I have contested it over the phone but they say that the details are so close to mine that it must be me.

I have cancelled the bank account, signed up for credit alerts with Experian and in the process of signing up for CIFAS. Incidentally, does fraud have to be proved before i can join them? As far as O2 are concerned, there is no fraud at the moment.

So my question is: With so many details of the account being exactly the same as mine how can i convince them that it is fraud? Someone has suggested that i ask for a copy of the contract but even then how can i prove that it is my signature?

Any help would be much appreciated. I really do not want to have to pay it, apart from the cost the the principal, this would leave me no room to move if something like this happens again!

Jon_01

O2 fraud dept will have looked at all the info and documents they have linked to your acc and the other one. If they're saying that the info is so close that no one else could know them you have to consider that it's someone you know or a family member that's opened the acc (I work as a fraud investigator for one of the other networks and this does happen).

Have you asked O2 fraud what info they have ? They may not give you all the info, (if we go round telling everyone how we work people will soon find a way round it) but they should be able to give you some insight.

Guys_Dad

The fact that O2 says that the details are so close to yours it must be you is nuts. How do they know? Because O2 has that information. So the person who told you that it was so close must have that information. That means that they themselves could have opened the account !!! Do you see where I am coming from?

Anyone from any company that you have ever opened a Direct Debit with, from Utilities to Credit Card companies has sufficient information to impersonate you.

O2 have the ability to check the location that the rogue calls were being made from and hopefully they will be miles away from you.

What address did they send the mobile phone to? If it was from a store, what store? etc etc. They need to prove it was you, not the other way round.

DarkConvict

Guys_Dad wrote: »

What address did they send the mobile phone to? If it was from a store, what store? etc etc. They need to prove it was you, not the other way round.

I agree, they need to prove that it was you which ran up this bill. If they can't, which they shouldn't be able to as it wasn't you. Then it is up to them to deal with it as they should have made better checks to ensure it was a legitimate buyer.
My advise would be to help O2 with this matter, but when they ask to check details get them to give you the ones they have on record and you can just confirm if they are correct or incorrect.

redux

Their fraud department ought to be able to deploy some initiative.

One thing they could do is phone the other number and ask for you.

Even if the other person pretends to be you, there should be someone at O2 who can recognise the voice is different. If the other person says you lent them the phone, they should be able to explain when it will be back in your hands.

That isn't necessarily the best way to deal with it, but O2 can't expect to carry on doing nothing at all. They have a case of fraud either way, even if they suspect you.

Jon_01

The O2 fraud dept obviously have some info on which they've based their claim. They will have run a number of in depth checks before coming to an judgement.

You need to talk to them to find out as much as possible.

maxtweenie

Jon_01 wrote: »

The O2 fraud dept obviously have some info on which they've based their claim. They will have run a number of in depth checks before coming to an judgement.

You need to talk to them to find out as much as possible.

Sounds more to me like O2 are saying it's up to the OP to prove that they're not on the scam rather than helping the OP to find out what has happened.

Jon_01

They haven't just stuck their fingers in the air and said, 'we'll charge this one to the mug.'

There are checks which can prove that a person knew what was going on. Without knowing what info their fraud team have it's hard to say what's shown up. Which is why the op need to talk to them. They won't tell him the in's and out's of how they found the info but they should give him some info.

Martin4PrimeMinister

Hi,

I have considered the possibility that it is someone i know and i am taking precautions in that area.

I am preparing an email that documents everything that has happened so far to send to O2. Putting it in writing should help make it more serious. I will definitely include the line about 'they must prove it is me not the other way round'. I have been coming at it from the other direction and not getting anywhere.

I can go to the Ombudsman after 8 weeks, which, depending on when that is from precisely, should be quite soon.

Please keep the advice coming. I need all i can get. Specifically, if anyone had had any experience of fighting/investigating this sort of thing and the best way to handle it. I am interested to know the most likely area that will prove my innocence ie, signatures on contracts, my voice on the phone, details that are wrong in account info etc.

lurkylurky

There was a case on The One Show tonight where a lady had her bank account taken over and was billed by O2. Her bank (Natwest I think) refunded the money when The One Show got involved. Might be worth checking it out on the iplayer.

DarkConvict

Have you managed to get any further with this?