"Next Directory" Debit Card Fraud

Reloli

Hi all,


I always find myself browsing this forum but not registering, but I've decided to join and hope that someone can offer a bit of clarity. Sorry if this has been posted in the wrong place.


So last night I was checking my online banking (I check it most days) and noticed a payment for £67.50 to "Next Directory" taken on 28th October. This confused me because I'm actively trying to save money for a holiday so I would not be spending this amount at Next as I'm being very stringent at the moment. I also haven't visited Next for months. I called the bank this morning to sort it out, and they said that there's another payment pending for £80 again from Next Directory, taken yesterday.


They've proven it's fraud and said I'll be refunded for them both, as their system shows that both transactions were made on an iPhone that has never been used by me before. I'm just a bit confused as to what this means, as contactless limit is £50 I think, so I don't think the fraudster could have used Apple Pay for this amount? Or does this mean that the fraudster has used their mobile phone with my details, to pay for goods online?


I'm sorry if these are silly questions, this has never happened to me before and I'm a little taken aback by it! I'm just concerned now as to how this has even happened as I don't really use ATM's, and online I only enter my bank details on what I thought were reputable sites, like eBay, Amazon, ASOS. I'm a bit worried if there's a virus on my computer or something like that and it might have further information about me


Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

Willing2Learn

Hi Reloli and welcome to the forum

If it were me, I would double-check my credit files with the three CRAs to make sure there is no other fraudulent activity going on.

Reloli

Thank you Willing2Learn


I'll make a check today to make sure everything is in order. It's quite unnerving knowing that someone has been able to access personal bank accounts isn't it

SuperHan

It's not clear if the purchases were made online using an iPhone, or the iPhone was used for Apple Pay in store, but I think Next Directory is online or for orders made in store rather than purchases, so I expect the former.


It sounds as though someone has your card details and has used them to shop online. I imagine the bank are sorting you with a new card.


It could have come from a "virus" on your computer, so you may want to do relevant virus/malware scans to make sure there's nothing lurking.


There is no Apple Pay limit either. It's not considered as contactless as it requires an additional step of verification (you need a passcode/fingerprint/face ID to use it, whereas contactless is just the card) so it's actually more secure than even chip and PIN. Some shops do limit it, like they limit contactless, but more and more are taking this limit off, or making it in the thousands.