Help with ID fraud

gobblechops

Hello, I have received a letter from Wonga this morning informing me of my outstanding balance of £525.

I have never used Wonga and never intend too. I have checked my only account this morning and no money has gone, everything seems OK.

I believe that someone has used my details to get a credit card in my name, all the clues lead to think it its with Vanquis as I have had mail from them with a Vanquis pack. The name on the letter was slightly different to my name and so is this letter from Wonga.

I have never applied for a Vanquis card and never intend too.

I was going to dive right in to complain to Wonga but I'm not sure what to do.

Here's the list so far of what I'm going to do but not sure?

1. Ring Wonga and inform them that I have received the letter but I have never made an application.
2. Ring Vanquis to inform them of fraud?
3. Report the crime on action fraud
4. Report to local police
5. Inform my bank

HELP!!!:money:

Gromitt

I assume you have already reported the fact you never applied for a Vanquis card already?

and of course you need to report the fact you never applied for a Wonga loan.

They'll take it from there.

So (1), as I assume you've already done (2).

dalesrider

1 & 2.
I would also talk to your bank. Mention you have been the victim of ID theft and they will get you through to the correct people who will advise what you need to do and also what they can do.
It may involve Cifas.

gobblechops

Thanks for the replies, I haven't done anything yet as I only received the letter this morning and the Wonga phone line is Mon-Fri.

If I ring Vanquis will they listen if I tell them I think that the ID theft is with them? Like I mentioned previously it makes sense that it has to be a Vanquis card as this is the only mail I receive with card offers.

Plxply

gobblechops wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, I haven't done anything yet as I only received the letter this morning and the Wonga phone line is Mon-Fri.

If I ring Vanquis will they listen if I tell them I think that the ID theft is with them? Like I mentioned previously it makes sense that it has to be a Vanquis card as this is the only mail I receive with card offers.

Sorry this is slightly confusing me, do you believe that someone has a Vanquis card issued with your identity? If so it would be a good idea to get your credit report from all the CRA's (Equifax, Experian, CallCredit). I'd start with Noddle (owned by Callcredit) first as it's free then it's just £2 for the statutory report for others.

Apart from that it would be best to advise Wonga and Vanquis that someone is using your identity and also to get yourself placed on the CIFAS Protective Register which you can get instructions for here:

http://www.cifas.org.uk/pr_for_individuals

Apart from that here is the advice CIFAS give in regards to identity theft:

If I do become a victim, who can help me to sort it out?

If you discover fraud, don't panic but do act quickly:

• Immediately alert any organisations you know to be involved. They will tell you whether you need to contact the police. For example, if debit or credit cards, online banking or cheques are involved, your first step should be to contact your bank or credit card company.

• Alert one of the three credit reference agencies. They will help you review your credit report and identify any fraudulent entries, and will contact all of the organisations involved for you. They will also notify the other two credit reference agencies so they too can offer help.

• Consider getting a CIFAS Protective Registration (click here for further details). For a small fee, a warning will alert most lenders to the fraud so that they can take extra care when dealing with credit applications in your name.

pvt

If someone has taken out, or even applied for and been refused, a Vanquis card, then ask Vanquis to arrange for a CIFAS "2" to be registered in your name. If you do a CIFAS self registration then you'll have to pay a fee, about £12-£15 IIRC.

When you call Vanquis, and if there is a card or application in your name, try to establish what information the applicant had on the application form that is correct. They will try to hide behind the DPA, but asking the questions the correct way may get useful responses - for example, rather than asking what bank account number was used on the application, ask if the account number used ends with "xxxx".

The Wonga stuff coupled with the Vanquis junk mail does rather suggest ID theft, and that there's more to follow. Registering with the 3 CRAs as Plxply suggests is well worth while - and considering a few months of full online access might be a good investment. Checking them daily to see if any searches have been made may help you keep one step ahead.

gobblechops

OK so I called Vanquis today and there has been no card registered with my name and postcode so they are ruled out. I called Wonga and they have asked me to contact my local police station to report the crime and then call them back with the crime number and they will pass onto the fraud team. Its all a bit strange, as I say nothing else seems to be affected. It is just that easy to make a fraudulent loan application with Wonga. I think I will need to get a credit check as well though, my bank also suggested that.

dalesrider

gobblechops wrote: »

OK so I called Vanquis today and there has been no card registered with my name and postcode so they are ruled out..

I believe that someone has used my details to get a credit card in my name, all the clues lead to think it its with Vanquis as I have had mail from them with a Vanquis pack. The name on the letter was slightly different to my name

So how did Vanquis explain the pack away then ?

Clearly someone has attempted something if you got the pack.

pvt

Deleted Post as I had misread the OP

debtcutter

pvt wrote: »

Wonga are giving you the runaround here. You know exactly who has taken the money out of your bank account. It's Wonga. So the only thing you can tell Old Bill is that Wonga have taken money from your account - they will say "that's not fraud, sort it out with Wonga".

You only need to go to Old Bill when Wonga tell you that THEY haven't taken this money from you.

It is Wonga who have been defrauded, not you. So it is Wonga who need to report it to Old Bill. It's not your job to jump through hoops in order to make up for Wonga's pizzpoor security processes.

I'm not sure that money has come out of his account, has it?

He's just received an arrears letter.

The police will probs just say you haven't lost out financially, so won't pursue it, but will give you a crime ref number.

May as well just do that.

There's a lot of info over the net about Wonga recently and how quite a few people have reported being victims of ID fraud scams where they receive letters for Wonga loans they've never had.

I wonder if they're planning to change anything?

dalesrider

pvt wrote: »

Wonga are giving you the runaround here. You know exactly who has taken the money out of your bank account. It's Wonga. So the only thing you can tell Old Bill is that Wonga have taken money from your account - they will say "that's not fraud, sort it out with Wonga".

You only need to go to Old Bill when Wonga tell you that THEY haven't taken this money from you.

.

Clearly wonga DO NOT have the op's card/account details or they would have taken the cash.

From 1st post..

I have received a letter from Wonga this morning informing me of my outstanding balance of £525.

I have never used Wonga and never intend too. I have checked my only account this morning and no money has gone, everything seems OK.

So i bolded, your bit of advice for the OP.
As ID theft is involved. Its not a bad idea. As to what action they will take is a diffrent matter. I guess it will depend on how many requests they have.