Fraud on my Starling account?

lyle1993

Hi guys, was sat in my lounge today and up popped a Starling notification on my phone saying I'd spent £17.25 in some chicken shop in Manchester?! I then locked my card which stopped them spending a further £4.50. The guy on the chat said they had to wait until 5 days after the transaction has cleared to raise a dispute and then it's a further 2 days for a refund. Is this right? I'd been in Manchester Saturday-Tuesday but didn't lose my card at any point; I've only been using Starling for a few weeks so bit concerning it seems my card's been cloned already?!

colin79666

Worrying but at least the notification system worked so you could take immediate action.

According to one source you should be reimbursed immediately: https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/identity-theft-and-scams-what-you-are-liable-for#my-debit-card-has-been-used-fraudulently

However if they had your pin then you might be liable up to £50 as it could be seen as your fault for not keeping your details secure.

Did you have location based security turned on within the card setting?

masonic

Unless they have grounds to believe you were party to the fraud then they should refund you straight away - meaning in practice by the end of the working day after the issue is reported and the funds debited from your account.

Perhaps this is contactless payment fraud, in which case the card would not need to be cloned, it would just take someone with a jailbroken phone loaded with software to read and later replay your card details at a payment terminal to complete the transaction.

jonnygee2

The guy on the chat said they had to wait until 5 days after the transaction has cleared to raise a dispute and then it's a further 2 days for a refund. Is this right?

I'll third that they should reimburse you within 24 hours. If it takes more than this they should explain why (e.g. they have reason x that they need to look into this further).

You should escalate this as a complaint if you do not get reimbursed or given a reason for the delay soon.

I've only been using Starling for a few weeks so bit concerning it seems my card's been cloned already?!

It's very easy to clone a magstripe or get the PAN to create manual transactions or do online transactions.There's no known method to clone a chip, though.

Basically it can happen at any time to any card.

ryan92

I randomly received a new card from them a few months ago where it transpired by card details had been compromised and in the background stopped 6 transactions in India amounting to over £700!

While they had stopped the transactions, the fact they kept me in the dark and asked me to clarify if the transactions were mine (3 or 4 months later) to 'aid their investigations' made me a little uneasy - they just wouldn't tell me anything about how this may possibly have happened.

jonnygee2

they just wouldn't tell me anything about how this may possibly have happened.

Well yes its well noted their customer service is poor. Suprised they couldn't take the time to explain this to you though.

If it was in India then most probably the magstripe on your card was cloned. This is very easy to do. Sometimes fraudsters fit hard to spot devices to ATMs that do this, other times it's a specially fitted POS machine etc.

in the background stopped 6 transactions in India amounting to over £700

This is good though. They prevented the fraud. You should be thankful, a lot of banks still let these transactions through.

ryan92

jonnygee2 wrote: »

Well yes its well noted their customer service is poor. Suprised they couldn't take the time to explain this to you though.

If it was in India then most probably the magstripe on your card was cloned. This is very easy to do. Sometimes fraudsters fit hard to spot devices to ATMs that do this, other times it's a specially fitted POS machine etc.



This is good though. They prevented the fraud. You should be thankful, a lot of banks still let these transactions through.

Yeah I am very thankful they managed to stop the transactions. It was just the whole "just accept what we've done" approach that was frustrating. Having such a massive amount potentially on the brink of being taken and no explanation as to why or reassurance the account was okay was a little uneasy that's all

jonnygee2

Having such a massive amount potentially on the brink of being taken and no explanation as to why or reassurance the account was okay was a little uneasy that's all

Yes I agree, it would have been better customer service for them just to explain it to you!

So that's two people on this thread with poor Starling customer service experiences. I've used it once and it was good, but it was a long time ago.

lyle1993

Just that I've never once had any fraud on my account, apart from with HSBC once when they refunded me within one working day. Can't believe I have to wait five days, I'm going to wait until the transaction is fully posted and not pending and see what they say.
Over the last 18 months I've typically without fail used Apple Pay; interestingly last few weeks I've changed to just contactless using card since I joined with Starling, and this has happened. Is Apple Pay more secure?

masonic

lyle1993 wrote: »

Is Apple Pay more secure?

It can be (because it isn't activated unless you unlock your phone) if you rely only on it and don't carry your contactless card around with you. But that isn't practical for most people.

At the end of the day, all contactless fraud is the banks' problem, and just a temporary inconvenience to you.

lyle1993

masonic wrote: »

It can be if you rely only on it and don't carry your contactless card around with you. But that isn't practical for most people.

At the end of the day, all contactless fraud is the banks' problem, and just a temporary inconvenience to you.

Thing is I actually paid 5.50 in a Chicken Shop Tuesday am. This is not the same shop, but is about 1 mile away. I'm thinking when I paid they've taken my card details. Can't be a coincendence this place that has had my money today is also a chicken shop a mile away.