Money gone from account

couttleberry

Just back from holiday and checked by online bank statement to find that soemone has got hold of my debit card details and has used it to the tune of around £1300. Have reported it to RBS who have cancelled the card and will call me back in the morning. They said I would get a refund. It is really as simple as that?

Wondered if anyone else has had experience of this. Also very puzzled that a couple of the transactions are for refunds. Very confused. Also whoever it is has paid a sum to BT COM bill payments. Surely this would make them a bit traceable?

sinizterguy

Should be as simple as they say it is.

With my Natwest card, someone paid off £150 to T-Mobile. Reported it as soon as I saw it on the statement and they made me sign a document allowing the police to investigate my account and those details. They cancelled my current card, ordered a new one.

2 weeks later I got my refund and picked up the new card in about 5 days from the branch.

marleyboy

If they have paid a BT phone bill with your card, theyve slipped up, it should be easy to find out whom that bill is addressed to, chances are, he or she have just got themselves caught! I really hope so, im sure the bnk will find that out to reclaim the monies.

superscaper

Although the bank may sort it out quickly, RBS should anyway, what annoys me is that the bank won't tell you anything. Now obviously I'm not expecting them to give you the personal details of the person who stole the money but I'd have thought it would be in the bank's interest to tell you HOW the thieves got hold of the details and that way you can at least try and make sure it doesn't happen again (if it's preventable).

C_Ronaldo

The bank may not how the details were gained by the culprits, the details could have been gained from some other means which the bank dont have any control over

superscaper

C_Ronaldo wrote: »

The bank may not how the details were gained by the culprits, the details could have been gained from some other means which the bank dont have any control over

That would be fine except they won't give any details even if they did know. The bank could simply say "we don't know" but that's not what they do, they simply point blank refuse to tell you even when they do know. Such as; was it a particular online shop they got the details from etc. A friend of mine recently had money taken out of her account and in sorting it out with her bank they told her there were a few people who'd had their details taken by the same people and it was under investigation. So they knew who it was (allegedly) but they most certainly knew how the details were obtained, it was either an online shop or petrol station because of the card used. But if the bank doesn't tell you when they do know then how can you be sure you don't end up using the exact same place that stole your details again.

My point isn't about the things that are uncontrollable or they have no knowledge of but of the things that the banks won't help you with that are preventable in repeating problems.

So far the only times I know of when people have known how their details got stolen is when they've been able to work it out themselves through deduction or when it's obvious (cards actually stolen). I don't know of a single time when a bank has tried to ensure that the customer doesn't succumb to the same scam again, whatever that may be.

To give another example, suppose the bank and police find that a waiter has been scanning cards when taking them away in a restaurant. The sensible thing to do for the bank would be to tell the customer that his card was skimmed and give advice on what to watch out for and prevent it happening again. Now this doesn't violate giving personal details on the thief or even the restaurant but it makes the customer more informed and forearmed against them falling for the same thing, but as far as I'm aware banks don't do this. The customer doesn't get told the outcome of anything no matter what the bank knows.

RadoJo

I see what you mean, but the bank are probably just ciovering themselves. Imagine if they had said to you that they think your detais might have been obtained by this scammer at xyz.com or at zyx.com - you may well then come onto a forum like this to (very kindly) warn others, and damage the innocent business. Similarly, if they think your details were captured by someone whilst you were using abc.com, it isn't necessarily the fault of abc.com, it could be spyware on your computer, a compromised wi-fi connection or any number of things beyond the control of the site.

I would also expect that if they are sure your details were taken from one site, and sure that the site owners were responsible, they would be pressing for a conviction, and wouldn't be able to alert the company to the fact that they were under investigation by telling you and running the risk of compromising the legal side of things.

However, you would have thought that they would at least have explained the reasons for it, as you are clearly trying to save them money if they have been so quick to refund it as you say! I guess you will have to hope that they are as easy to deal with if this does happen again, and just hope that they manage to nab the fraudsters in the meantime!

superscaper

RadoJo wrote: »

However, you would have thought that they would at least have explained the reasons for it, as you are clearly trying to save them money if they have been so quick to refund it as you say! I guess you will have to hope that they are as easy to deal with if this does happen again, and just hope that they manage to nab the fraudsters in the meantime!

I understand exactly what you're saying which is why I said I wasn't expecting personal details of either the individual or the company/organisation, but if it was a particular type of scam etc maybe you're making yourself particularly vulnerable to that. Take your abc.com example, the bank could say your details were captured online. This gives the customer no details of the company to cause any libellous damage but it DOES give them enough info to look into how it happened themselves, eg spyware on pc to clean, being advised on using only secure sites etc. If the customer isn't told how they got the details then they may just carry on with a spyware infected pc without even thinking to investigate that because they may just assume it was from somewhere else. Conversely the bank may find out someone had been taking info off receipts thrown away. Again there's no breach in data protection if the bank merely tells the customer this and so they can then ensure they shred/destroy all receipts to prevent it happening again.

I'm sure you aren't going to get done by the same scammer if the bank and police do their job properly but you may get done by the same scam. If the bank can't tell you the method by which your details were obtained (if they know) then you can't look into whether there's anything you can do to prevent it happening again.

I suppose in summary I want the banks to reveal to the customer the scam/method (if they know) that was used not details of the scammer and I can't see ANY reason why they can't do that.

meeps

I had this a couple of weeks ago, under £60 worth that I noticed within 48 hours, and today I got a letter from the bank that said 'the case is now resolved' and enclosed was an advice sheet on 'how to beat the fraudsters'. my money was back in my account today.
I would have thought one of mine would have been traceable as it was a mobile top up..

C_Ronaldo

superscaper wrote: »

That would be fine except they won't give any details even if they did know. The bank could simply say "we don't know" but that's not what they do, they simply point blank refuse to tell you even when they do know. Such as; was it a particular online shop they got the details from etc. A friend of mine recently had money taken out of her account and in sorting it out with her bank they told her there were a few people who'd had their details taken by the same people and it was under investigation. So they knew who it was (allegedly) but they most certainly knew how the details were obtained, it was either an online shop or petrol station because of the card used. But if the bank doesn't tell you when they do know then how can you be sure you don't end up using the exact same place that stole your details again.

My point isn't about the things that are uncontrollable or they have no knowledge of but of the things that the banks won't help you with that are preventable in repeating problems.

So far the only times I know of when people have known how their details got stolen is when they've been able to work it out themselves through deduction or when it's obvious (cards actually stolen). I don't know of a single time when a bank has tried to ensure that the customer doesn't succumb to the same scam again, whatever that may be.

To give another example, suppose the bank and police find that a waiter has been scanning cards when taking them away in a restaurant. The sensible thing to do for the bank would be to tell the customer that his card was skimmed and give advice on what to watch out for and prevent it happening again. Now this doesn't violate giving personal details on the thief or even the restaurant but it makes the customer more informed and forearmed against them falling for the same thing, but as far as I'm aware banks don't do this. The customer doesn't get told the outcome of anything no matter what the bank knows.

point taken

superscaper

C_Ronaldo wrote: »

point taken

Don't feel I was having a go or anything. Don't even disagree with you, just thought it worth explaining what I meant a bit more and what I actually expect from the banks.

I'm sure under some circumstances you could probably work out yourself if it was a particular company that passed on your details etc. In which case would there be anything wrong then posting it on a forum? I've certainly done that myself when I've found companies who pass my email address on to phishers/scammers. So if it was bank details I think I'd be more likely to post something, and I wouldn't expect the bank to name and shame them to me and that's fine as far as I'm concerned.