Cash Only Cards

Ali500H

My Farther is elderly and suffers from poor memory and depression. Over the last 2 years he has been targeted by fraudsters based in the Bournemouth area they regularly manage to take sums usually between £80 - £170 from His card or account they also use third party companies to collect monies swapping between cards and direct debit. Every time I close down a method and reclaim the money from the bank they simply use another company or payment method and the banks seem powerless to stop them as do the police.

I know the best way to stop fraud is to deny information however with my Fathers memory issues I'm not confident he's able to do this I have had to cancel multiple cards and have moved bank accounts several times however they keep getting hold of his details. I have thought about changing his phone number however this would further isolate him. I'm looking for an alternative to a traditional Debit Card but there doesn't seem to be much out there my dad only ever pays for thinks in person he never makes purchases over the internet or the phone what I would like is a debit card which only allows in person transactions that he can use at the pub, the local shops and to draw out cash.

Is anyone aware of anything like this my only alternative is to permanently cancel his card and go back to cash only. I was always taught that money was safest in the bank however it seems with modern payment technology its far safer in his house.

Anthorn

Ali500H wrote: »

I'm looking for an alternative to a traditional Debit Card but there doesn't seem to be much out there my dad only ever pays for thinks in person he never makes purchases over the internet or the phone what I would like is a debit card which only allows in person transactions that he can use at the pub, the local shops and to draw out cash.

Is anyone aware of anything like this my only alternative is to permanently cancel his card and go back to cash only. I was always taught that money was safest in the bank however it seems with modern payment technology its far safer in his house.

Probably not available anywhere. A debit card by its nature can be used anywhere it's accepted. The only alternative I know at this time is a Soldo prepaid Debit Mastercard which can be turned on and off at will but your father will need to use a mobile app to do it. Also likely to be available next year with the launch of app-only Fintech current accounts. c.f. Starling Bank. Alternatively an ATM "cash card" that comes with some savings accounts and some basic accounts and go back to using cash.

alanq

Assuming that Father will not remember or note the CVV number on the back of his card, scratching it off of a new card would prevent it being used for most online and telephone purchases.

Do you know how the fraudsters are getting hold of the bank account details in order to set up direct debits? Is Father telling them?

As an alternative to changing phone number perhaps you could consider a call screening device such as Truecall. This has various options including blocking all calls other than from specified numbers. Of course this would still not stop scams arriving in th post.

eDicky

Apparently these kinds of fraudsters operate freely, in the knowledge that police don't have the resources to suppress them and banks find it cheaper to reimburse victims than take any action.

I've not used it myself, but you may find Soldo prepaid cards useful for this. You would be the main account holder, using the necessary iOS or Android phone app, with an additional card for your father with his name on and without the need for a smartphone. (I'm assuming that he doesn't use one) You would need to load money yourself and then transfer it over to your father's card, if that's acceptable.

The main thing is that you are able to switch off online and overseas transaction functions using your phone app, while allowing ATM withdrawals (or not) and shop purchases, including contactless.

Cards and transfers between them are free, but there's a £2 monthly fee per card after the first three months and UK cash withdrawals cost 50p.

https://www.soldo.com/en-uk/c/family/

agrinnall

Not exactly what you have asked for but savings accounts often issue ATM cards, he wouldn't be able to use it at the pub or shops, but he could use cash for those. I have one for the Yorkshire Building Society Internet Saver, although I'll probably stop using it soon as the interest paid is about to be reduced again.

mt99

Yes I agree with the above - YBS cashcard account just allows cash to be taken out of LINK machines. No debit card.

DrSyn

1.Do you know how the fraudsters are getting hold of the bank account details in order to set up direct debits?

2.An alternative to changing the phone number might be to use to use a phone with call -blocking features. In a Which? 2016 issue, they were happy with four phones, here are two of them
(a) BT4500 £40 (b) Gigaset A550A

3. The Barclays Basic Account if you can get them to give your father on does come with a cash card instead of a debit card.
http://www.barclays.co.uk/basic-current-account

4. There are ways to remember a a PIN even with a poor memory.

Occasionally our local supermaket tills do not work & cash is the only way to pay.

In the news recently some banks ATM's did not.

I think you should always carry cash as well as a card.

If your father opens a savings account which comes with an ATM card. He could carry some money to pay for shopping and use the card to get more money.

5. Have you considered a pre-paid cash, you can get one from the Post Office:- http://www.postoffice.co.uk/travel-money/card

System

Probably the easiest thing to do is -

Open a savings account (with whomever he has a current account) with an ATM card and you transfer over enough funds for week to week useage but low enough that it won't be a massive loss

Saving accounts also usually reject Direct Debits automatically.

Ali500H

Thanks hadn't thought of scratching the security number but that could help I think its phone scams ironically one of the main scams they do is offering to supply a call blocking service which of course they cant I'm going to look to see what his phone provider can do to further screen calls to the house.

Ali500H

Thanks could be just what I need will look into it further.

knightstyle

My BIL has money problems so all his income goes into an account in my wife's name, she pays all the bills and transfers a small amount to his cash plus account twice a week. He cannot take more from the account than there is in it. Both accounts are old Abbey ones, now Santander.