Debit card details stolen, now I am in debt, Help!

debs626

Went to ATM this afternoon and could not withdraw money. Came home to check online and sure enough there was no money in my account.

I rang the bank and the took details and went through all the transactions and over £1000 has been taken.

I only have a £50 overdraft on my account but my account has been able to go to over £300 into the red beyond the £50 overdraft. How can the bank let this happen.

Its being looked into by the fraud team but how do I stand getting all my money back? what about the overdrawn overdraft???

Im on IS and any money going into my account will be swallowed up also my direct debits are all due to go out on the 1st ...... where do I get the money from to pay thos ???? Can I get help from DWP?

Any help and advice on my situation would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

krisskross

this happened to my daughter. Fraudulent withdrawals to the tune of £3000, all taken in ATMs in romania. The card had never left her possession.

Her bank sorted it out quickly but needed a prod to do it. It still took 2 weeks. See if they will let you have a bigger overdraft to cover your DDs and living until it is sorted out. My daughter got all her money back, plus some as the exchange rate was in her favour when the refund to her account was made.

Do hope you get it sorted, I guess your card has now been cancelled so that is another headache.

debs626

Thanks krisskross, yes card has been canceled and new one issued. They did mention a larger OD but all I thought of was more debt but it might be my only option :-(

All the fraudulent transactions were done online so I think its harder to investigate, Im no expert but I dont think its all cut and dry.

All I have is £2.50 in my purse :-( I have never felt so destitute.

Anthillmob

you MIGHT be able to ask for a crisis loan from social security or whatever they callthemselves these days. youll deffo need proof from your bank though of whats happened.

i feel for you i really do.

krisskross

My daughter had to file a crime report with the police. I am sure you will have to do this. Look lassie, don't worry about a big overdraft, when your money is returned you can go back to your normal £50

debs626

The lady on the phone (Halifax) went through all the transactions with me and I told her of the ones I didnt make, she filled out a report and sent that straight off, so I just persumed that it would be going to the fraud department, wether thats within the Halifax or not I dont know. She also asked if I was willing to go to court ect ect (cant remember the exact words she used) to which I agreed. I will go into the bank tomorrow and ask for a bigger overdraft. Will just have to try and live off that until it HOPEFULLY gets sorted.

I have got over the initial shock now but 1 thing for sure is that they have not got my details through the lack of security on my behalf. I dont store any personal details on my PC, not even my name. My PC is like a bank vault nothing gets in here without a stick of dynamite. So the only other way my details have been stolen is via a site that I have used to purchace someting. I am very security concious and and check for the https ect, I have written down all the names of sites that I have bought from in the past 2 years and its only a dozen or so and most are very well known sites ie, tesco's, dell, ect, the most resent purchase was via channel4.com.

you always think its never gonna happen to you .......... LOL it couldnt have happend at a better time to be honest. Just got a big shop in, my daughter is kitted out with new school uniform and nothing major is happening. Could have been worse, it could have happend the week befor xmas.

Gonna go to my bed now, try and sleep, and pray it will all come good.

Smashing

Do you not use cash machines? Most fraud is done by card cloning - happened to my friend a couple of months back, got stung to the tune of 3K within a few days.

The bank (natwest) didn't report any excessive activity on the card, so it's just as well she kept a regular eye on her savings...took a few weeks to get the money back and that was with prodding.

Keep on at them and make sure they are aware of the situation regarding your circumstances.

sarahlouise210

This happened to me - the bank sorted it out and I was refunded within 10 days. I think your best opetion is to take the overdraft limit just so as you have some cash and your bills are paid - once the theft is sorted out you can reduce the overdraft limit again. Sorry to hear about it - I felt devastated when it happed to me.

debs626

Thanks for you kind words and advice guys, greatly appreciated. I dont feel soo isolated.

Its definately an online fraud as all the transactions made are via the internet. Also looks like a foreign person/s too as on my statment this morning I have a charge for Debit Card Service Charge - 18th Aug 566.90 CHF@2.256 so I am guessing that some sort of exchange rate charge??????

Becles

My debit card was cloned but I never use the internet. I hadn't let it out of my sight, and hadn't noticed any dodgy ATM's. Some transactions made in shops in Hong Kong cleared out my account.

The bank put a block on the account requiring the shop to telephone the bank for security reasons. When a shop called, the bank asked for the name on the card and were given an oriental gentlemans name. Obviously it wasn't me, and the bank knew I was still in the UK so they declined the transation.

The bank said there is software out there that can generate card numbers. These are put on a fake card with any name as they don't know your name.

Smile were brilliant. I was actually on holiday in London when I realised I couldn't get cash out as the account was empty. They put a massive overdraft on for free to cover my DD's and organised some cash for me to pick up at a Co-op bank branch.

My money was refunded with in a week or so, and I can't fault how helpful the bank were.

Browntoa

I'm giving some advice about making sure her PC is clean over in this thread if anyones interested/worried

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=249001