Mobile phone - identity theft - fake bank account scam

usignuolo

The phone company could not have taken a notional 10p from my debit card as there was no valid account from which to deduct it. They sent the phone out to me anyway.

Nor did they collect any additional credit information when processing the dd order. Included in the parcel from p4u which contained the phone sent to me, was a delivery note from p4u and a "Customer Information Form" from Orange. This Orange form was completely blank where you might expect to see the sort of credit information asked for here as in

"We need to do a credit check before we can complete your order. For this we will require a bit of extra information, such as your current employment and direct debit details plus your address history for the last three years..."

None of this was present. In fact the only information it contained was my name current address date of birth and an incorrect home phone number. All those extra fields were left blank. From my research it seems that for online orders the only research done by p4u is to verify the name and delivery address, the bank sort code and that the account code is a valid one in a format which could possibly be a bank account code for the bank shown.

There was a bank sort code and account number printed with my name on the bottom of the Orange form, to use when setting up a direct debit. They appeared to relate to a bank card but they did not match, so any attempt to do a .10p deduction verification would have failed. Orange confirmed when I phoned them that a notional direct debit had been set up in my name using this fake account information. It would never have worked, as I do not even bank at Natwest, the bank code used.

The fact the phone was still sent to me and an Orange dd set up for the plan makes it clear that no 10p verification was done because if it had been, the credit check would have been failed.

In any case the person I spoke to at NatWest confirmed there was no fake bank account in my name, the scammers just used a set of codes which individually checked out and that the phone companies assume these would work and sent out the phone and set up the plan without waiting for any credit checks at the bank itself to complete.

System

usignuolo wrote: »

The phone company could not have taken a notional 10p from my debit card as there was no valid account from which to deduct it.

Just for clarity, to take from a debit (or credit) card, a phone company would need the name on the card, the 16-digit card number, the expiry date, the 3-digit "security code", and the billing address. If they do this, it can serve as a check on the address. Debit cards often (but not always) also show the sort code and account number of the bank account from which the amount is subsequently debited.

usignuolo

Update

I got a letter yesterday from p4u. The only positive thing that could be said about it was that it did not contain any spelling errors.

There was no attempt to thank me for reporting the scam to them, or to indicate suggest I might be upset that I had been involved in this - which could only take place because of their lax systems for vetting online sales. In fact it only just stopped short of accusing me of actually being part of the scam myself...

Basically it said word to the effect, we hear you have been involved in fraudulent purchase of our phones, please send it back in the bag provided so that we can bring this matter to a close.

It wouldn't have happened if they weren't so cavalier in selling and despatching their phones to scammers without any proper checks and they can't even say thank you to me for helping sort it out.

The letter from 02 (scammers also tried it with them but they caught it a bit sooner) was little better.

EE and Barclays were helpful and so was Nat West once I got past their inability to look up a fake account using the stolen identify used.

Buzby

The address verification check works, because it is 'real'. YOU check out as a legitimate customer. The payment method will not, but then whilst it might help corroborate you are one and the same (or not, if it bounced) there is nothing to state you can only pay by DD. You might wish to pay by CPA, or cash (in receipt of invoice).

The desperation to push product is paramount - as can be seen. The fact they couldn't care less would be reflected in your credit file being fried, which needs no DDM confirmation.

Neat, huh?!

buglawton

Wonder how the scammers so accurately know the time of delivery of the phone to your address.

zerog

buglawton wrote: »

Wonder how the scammers so accurately know the time of delivery of the phone to your address.

That's what I was thinking. I hope the OP is safe.

reclusive46

buglawton wrote: »

Wonder how the scammers so accurately know the time of delivery of the phone to your address.

If they have a tracking number they can see when its been delivered. Some will also send estimated delivery time by mail

I find this weird though as all the phone companies I've dealt with have used a debit or credit card to verify identity.

DaveRowntree

Just to stick my oar in on an old thread, but I've just been the victim of a related scam, that unfolded thus:

Arrived home to find UPS delivery card, the sender being Apple (I don't like their expensive shiny tack so I was curious) and entered the tracking info into the UPS website, and noticed the delivery address had been changed to the other end of the country. I thought nothing much of it. Today, I get a letter from Barclays Partner Finance in partnership with Apple, confirming the bank details and payment date. The bank sort code traced to Halifax online, but they confirmed that it was not an account of mine (I still have one dormant kicking around - I must close that!) so I'm not liable for the payments, but of course my name and address were used, so it may affect my credit rating. This I can check.

As in many similar scams, the scumbags have pocketed a couple of high value phones (in my case 2 iphone6+ 128Gb models, each over £750)

All the relevant people are informed now, but I still have to chase it all on Monday when the fraud units in these companies are available, and also I have to check and potentially rectify my credit history.

What a crap start to the day

Paul_1977

I would have fallen for this I think.

Thanks.

dr_adidas01

I'm wondering if the OP is lying as Phones4U went into administration back in September 2014, EE bought some of the phones4U business as did Dixons.