Barclays current account scam!

Andy_Cole

Hi,
I’ve just been scammed.

Just over a week ago I recieved a call from Barclays to say they had noticed some suspicious activity on my account and wanted me to confirm if some transactions were genuine. I confirmed I didn’t recognise some of the transactions, they told me they would cancel my debit card and issue me a new one. They also cancelled one of the pending transactions.

I recieved a new debit card, destroyed and disposed of my old one and carried on, my new card was working.

Yesterday evening at about 1830 I recieved another seemingly identical type of call from “Barclays”, this time they had notic d a payment for £200+ to amazon half an hour earlier and wanted to check if it was genuine, I confirmed it wasn’t. They asked me to log in to my mobile banking to check if there were any other transactions, as I was in the supermarket at the time I asked them to call me in half an hour

As I write this I realise how obvious it is now.... why didn’t I call them back rather than them calling me?... anyway...

30 minutes later they called. I again confirmed I hadn’t made any payment to Amazon but neither could I see it on my mobile banking, they assured me that was because they had cancelled it following my earlier call. They then explained that because they had already issued me a new debit card but my account still seemed to be compromised they would now give me a new account number and sort code - at the time it sounded so genuine!
They were concerned that all of my accounts (2x current an everyday saver and a Barclaycard) could be at risk so they asked me to transfer the funds from all of them (except the Barclaycard) into one of my current accounts, they would then generate me a new account and I could deposit all the money in there. Which is exactly what I did... I made two transactions out of my account into my “new” account, one for £999 and the second for £997, they said it had to be two transactions as they couldn’t transfer more than £1000 in one....

This morning having become concerned all I could see on my mobile banking was 3 empty accounts I phoned Barclays fraud team to ask when I’d be able to access the new account.... to my horror and disappointment they told me I’d been scammed... for literally every penny!!

They’ve told me they will try and recover the funds but I’m not holding out much hope!

Has anyone experienced anything similar that could give me an idea whether I’m likely to ever see any of the money again?

Zanderman

Not experienced this personally but there are loads of examples on here and indeed everywhere else of people getting calls saying their accounts have been compromised and they have to move funds to a 'new' account. And they're always scams. No bank would ever do this.

eskbanker

Up until now, victims of such Authorised Push Payment scams haven't had much support once the money has left their own accounts, but since the end of last month, the bank to which you transferred the money now has a responsibility to deal with a complaint, as well as your own, so you may be able to pursue them as well as Barclays, with escalation to FOS as an option.

For further details see

https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-introduces-new-rules-handling-complaints-about-authorised-push-payment-fraud
https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/policy-statements/ps18-22-authorised-push-payment-fraud-extending-jurisdiction-financial-ombudsman-service
https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/policy/ps18-22.pdf

dj1471

It's a common story on here, it's extremely unlikely you'll see a penny of it again as it will have been immediately transferred on and eventually withdrawn or sent overseas.

How did they know you'd had a new debit card? Perhaps the first call was part of the scam too.

robatwork

Andy_Cole wrote: »

they would now give me a new account number and sort code - at the time it sounded so genuine!

It's not clear if this new account is with Barclays or another bank?

Mr.Generous

If the OP had tried to ring Barclays fraud dept back they may have found it takes about 45 mins for anyone to answer and then they are no help whatsoever. That was my experience when acting as a POA for my elderly father being robbed of every penny by a family member. Very bitter about the whole experience.

colsten

The scammers knew an awful lot about the OP. Initially, they knew enough to make some payments with the OP's old debit card. Then they knew his mobile phone number. Then they knew that he'd been sent a new debit card. Then they made yet another payment with that new card.

This might come as another huge shock to the OP, but it sounds as if someone very close to the OP is involved in the scam.

OP, have you reported it to the Police?

Ben8282

There are several things that really don't add up.
If the first telephone call was from the fraudsters, how did the OP receive a new debit card?
If the first telephone call was genuine, how did the fraudsters know that the OP had received a new debit card?

Zanderman

Ben8282 wrote: »

There are several things that really don't add up.
If the first telephone call was from the fraudsters, how did the OP receive a new debit card?
If the first telephone call was genuine, how did the fraudsters know that the OP had received a new debit card?

I'm not sure there's any evidence, part from coincidence, that there is any link between the first call, clearly genuinely from the bank - otherwise the new card wouldn't have arrived), about dodgy transactions resulting in a new debit card (perfectly normal behaviour for a bank in the circs) and the second call, clearly from scammers.suggesting moving all the money to a 'safe' account (something a bank would never do - they'd just do what they did after the first call, again)

Has the OP suggested there's a link? I would suggest there isn't one.

One was a series of ultimately unsuccessful fraud attempts that the bank detected and sorted out.

The other was a completely different modus operandi that fooled the OP into transferring all their money to fraudsters. Why would they be the same fraudsters?

enthusiasticsaver

You need to report this to the police.

dj1471

Ben8282 wrote: »

If the first telephone call was from the fraudsters, how did the OP receive a new debit card?

The OP gave them sufficient personal and security information during the call to contact Barclays and report the card as lost, part of gaining their confidence for the second call.

All we can do is guess unless the OP wants to clarify or offer further information, which doesn't look likely.