Strange letter from bank: Scam?

stumpjumper

I got a letter from Barclays (well it looks like it). It came in a plain envelope with my address handwritten on the front, inside there was a piece of Barclays headed note paper with a poorly printed letter on it. The letter was asking me to call a particular personal banker on xxxxx by 18/8 to discuss my account. The letter didn't come from my account holding branch and I'm a bit worried about calling up incase it's someone trying to get hold of my account security details, but I'm also worried that if its genuine the bank might do something.

What do I do??

Kilty_2

Go to your branch with it?

chatta

Call your account holding branch and ask them about it.....

chirpy007

Take it in, defo scam

stumpjumper

I can't get to my branch when it's open so I'll try giving them a call although I'm not hugely happy doing bank buisness over the phone.

Debt_Free_Chick

Call the usual number shown on your statement. Don't call any other number. Explain the letter and be prepared for them to ask you to send it on to them as - if it's a potential fraud - they will want to look into it.

Always call the usual known number. Never give any details to anyone other than those that you know are at Barclays - calling the usual number is the way to do this.

And you should never be asked to reveal your full password - only selected digits/characters.

HTH

Gordon_the_Moron

Barclays (or any reputable bank for that matter) would never send a letter out with your address handwritten on the front so it is a scam, nothing surer than that, take it to your branch or ring up.

JasonW_2

What happened with this stump?

J

regularsaver1

if the letter was franked (red type stamp) there is a code on there - you can check the sender with the post office by this frank code

Gordon_the_Moron

Franked and hand written, I somehow suspect it had a stamp on it.

Mikeyorks

Gordon_the_Moron wrote:

Barclays (or any reputable bank for that matter) would never send a letter out with your address handwritten on the front so it is a scam, nothing surer than that, take it to your branch or ring up.

Even the most sophisticated and expensive bulk output handling equipment ... 'wrecks' sometimes. And the resulting exceptions will be handled manually. Which means the odd handwritten envelope does not necessarily indicate it's a scam.

But, with all these things, best to be cautious. So - you don't pass out security data when you're given a number to ring. And if you can verify the number from the Branch / website beforehand - so much the better.