Are we being sold the fear of ID fraud? Blog Discussion

Former_MSE_Andrea

This is the discussion to link on the back of Martin's 'Are we being sold the fear of ID fraud?' blog. Please read the blog first, as the discussion folows it.

Read Martin's "Are we being sold the fear of ID fraud?" Blog

lil_miss_insanity

Oh dear - I'm in trouble again! I work for a well known high-street bank and have to sell our 'plus' account. One of the points I sell it on is the Red 24 ID theft assistance. Now I, like many, have been sold the scare stories, so thought it was a real benefit. Apparently not! I have come across one customer who's become victim to ID theft to the tune of a £17k car loan so felt justified. I now feel guilty again lol.

It is so hard being a MoneySaver and working in a sales role especially for a bank! I'm always coming across things on here that make me feel totally evil for selling one product or another, or for having to justify charges and refuse refunds. Ah well, if I make it in journalism I won't have to worry about not meeting targets or being sacked for directing customers to this site!

Hugs, Claire xxx

russjacks

well i too use a shredder and tell all my frends they should do the same, better safe than sorry. but who did start up all the ID fraud fear?. after reading this blog i now see myself as one of many who has fallen for this con. if fact i dont know of any one who has been a victim of this fraud. surly if you spread fear in order to gain money from that fear, is't that some kind of fraud?. might sound daft but that shredder company has £30 of mine. LOL

Dumbledore55

I shred anything with bank account details, personal details like date of birth, credit card numbers etc but not if a letter just has my name and address. There's so many ways people can find out your name and address, I don't see the point in shredding that.

https://www.b4usearch.com being one, telephone directory, electoral roll, ask a neighbour etc.

I think its wise to be careful with your personal data but apart from that, if someone wants to find out who you are and use your name its easy enough.

Greenwellies_2

I shed EVERYTHING whether it has my bank details or is just a pizza shop menu.

Having said that, the days of 'dustbin raiders' are very rare now, it tends to be a tech version.

An example of this was my dear mother.
She only shops in 3 stores with her card. she never takes money out of the hole in the wall, but does cash back instead.

She got a call from the bank that told her someone was using her card. She phoned me and told me. I was suspicious that this phone call was in fact a scam. I done some investigations and identified that it was in fact truthful.

Although we can't identify which one of the stores it was, (all of them are large companies) it must have been cloned at the till as she actually keeps all her statments and receipts as a record.

(she shreds standard mail and doesn't have a credit card)

The most recent advertisment on the radio for computer software from an anti virus company will no doubt boost their sales, but as always there will be:
1) free software to do the same job
2) a way round it within a week

GW

CPD17

TIP: never carry your photocard driving licence in the same place as your credit / debit cards. If you lose them , the thief has your name, address, date of birth and bank details plus a form of ID with a scrappy photo that probably fits half the population.
If the worst happens you can register a caution with one or more of the credit agencies that you are vulnerable to fraud because of stolen documents -- but that might slow down any future credit applications you make. You can also join a scheme that alerts you to any changes in your credit history, so will know if someone tries to get credit in your name. Each of these costs a little but the peace of mind was worth it to me.

zeenut

I have been contacted by "the bank" recently, the caller asked my name and date of birth. I refused, explaining that she should first prove to me that she was "the bank". She then told me that she could not continue the conversation!!!! Who was she??? I rang "the bank's" Fraud team and was told I can set up a secret question that "the bank" must ask me in order to identify them as ligitimate cold callers. So my advice is to simply do the same if you are called by "the bank" in future, after all we have an equal right to "take them through security" and hopefully it blocks off any unscrupulous attempt to access our personal details. Not all of my banks offer this service and the best thing then is to call them back on a known number. Cuts both ways all this security malarchy eh???

uther_pendragon

my card protection company kept phoning me to try & sell me ID Fraud cover, I said I don't deal with people over the phone as I couldn't verify who they were. I was phoned 4 times in 1 week, & to prove who they were, THEY told me MY security details!!! It was only when I threatened to go elsewhere for my card protecrion they stopped phoning. If they had called the wrong person by mistake, that person would now have my security details.

Also I service & maintain shredders & the majority of shredders don't like plastic i.e credit cards, especially crosscut shredders.

If you are using a straight cut shredder don't feed anything in sideways, because your details can still be read.

I use a garden incinerator

nemo183

Having had a quick scan through the thread, maybe it's important to mention that ID fraud, although becoming more common, is still relatively rare. It is a crime that requires a reasonable level of planning and thought.

Credit Card fraud is much easier, and more simple. In theory, anyone who ever makes a CC transaction should NEVER let the card out of their sight. The most common problem often occurs in a bar or restaurant, if a card is left behind the bar or passed over when paying for a meal. Either gives the opportunity for all the card details, including the 3 digit security numbers to be recorded. Worst case senario is for someone who is visiting a local restaurant, and who has a slightly odd surname, to loose sight of the card.

Sadly, even in the best restaurants, there is a high turnover of staff, many of whom have never been asked for references. It only needs one of these to forward details to a gang who have the time to match names to addresses...

Having said this, when it happened to me I found that my card company were utterly supportive. But I'd hate to think what might happen if it ocurred again within a short period of time.

flyforfun

I'm a bit concerned about some of the screenscraper websites, including ones listed here. I used the link to search for home insurance and balked at giving my date of birth to it. So I made up details and used a neighbouring address. Lo and behold already 2 days later I'm getting spam from some company, not offering home insurance, but a debt consolidation website saying they got my details from this screenscraper website.

Not very happy.

lil_miss_insanity

zeenut wrote:

I have been contacted by "the bank" recently, the caller asked my name and date of birth. I refused, explaining that she should first prove to me that she was "the bank". She then told me that she could not continue the conversation!!!! Who was she??? I rang "the bank's" Fraud team and was told I can set up a secret question that "the bank" must ask me in order to identify them as ligitimate cold callers. So my advice is to simply do the same if you are called by "the bank" in future, after all we have an equal right to "take them through security" and hopefully it blocks off any unscrupulous attempt to access our personal details. Not all of my banks offer this service and the best thing then is to call them back on a known number. Cuts both ways all this security malarchy eh???

I have to say, as a representative of "the bank" telecontacting's a blooming nightmare! Luckily, it's not something I have to do all day every day. For data protection and FSA regs we *have* to confirm D.O.B. and postcode before we can even disclose which bank we are! We can get people to call us back via the call centre, but chances are we won't be at the same desk to take the return call, or it'll get lost along the way somewhere. To be honest, I wish there was no such thing as having to call customers! Even when they ask you to call on a certain date, they still don't want to talk to you! OK rant over - you do have a point, I agree...it's just very frustrating!