Banking phishing/scam??

SevenOfNine

I have POA for my mother & my name & details have been added to her bank a/c, she's also listed by them as 'vulnerable' (in her 90's & a step or two into dementia). She is not registered for on-line nor phone banking.

I rec'd a text supposedly from her bank stating "a regular payment has been set up to ADEK AUSTIN from a/c number *** as requested". It goes on to say contact them urgently if request hasn't been made by me.

It hasn't. Not by me & certainly not by my mother, though the 3 digits of the a/c number given are correct. I didn't see my text until some 5 hours after receiving it, by then 11pm. No number with it to call, if there had been then I'd have been more suspicious about a scam & most certainly would not have called it.

I rang the number on the back of my debit card, & customer service there transferred me to 24 hour fraud dept, who transferred me back to customer services "who will be able to cancel the direct debit or standing order, whichever has been set up".

Customer service advised me they cannot do that until after 08:00 today when the systems have updated overnight. Then they will take me through the security process. I've explained that might be impossible, not being registered for on-line nor phone banking, I don't even have her bank statements to discuss when/where last spending might have been as minimal confirmation.

I can't say I'm comfortable if obliged to give her (or my) personal information over the phone because that's all that's left to confirm I'm authorised to discuss the a/c. Though I appreciate I'm dialling the number given on the debit card, am I just being neurotic about this?

Stay neurotic & visit her bank instead later today, or just stop being a !!!! & call the d/c number?

Robin9

You've done the right thing - wait for their phone call.

No point in going into branch - all they will do is give you a phone number to ring.

You will have some idea of what's on the statement - balance, regular payments

Zanderman

Not sure I'm understanding this - you have PoA but you don't have online or phone banking or her statements? What do you have?

I assume, as the bank are happy to talk to you, that PoA has been activated at the bank. So what is the problem with discussing your info on the phone to them? Surely, if you're ringing them, and they need security info, there's no security risk?

As Robin9 says above, branch are unlikely to be able to help. Just make the call.

But, to avoid any of this in future, get registered online, on the phone and, perhaps, re-direct the statements to you.

The point of PoA is to be able to manage the account - it seems, from the info you've given, that you can't do this yet.

Robin9

Zanderman wrote: »

…...…….. What do you have? …………..

Cheque Book, Debit Card, correspondence confirming POA ????

Zanderman

Robin9 wrote: »

Cheque Book, Debit Card, correspondence confirming POA ????

Perhaps, but I was asking SevenOfNine.

Because I'm surprised, with PoA activated, that there seems to be no actual overview of the account in place - which is, imho, the entire point of having PoA.

It's not just having a cheque book and card (which merely gives access to the money in the account) it's about actually managing the account.

Robin9

Zanderman wrote: »

Perhaps, but I was asking SevenOfNine. ………...

so was I.

SevenOfNine is usually on the ball so I am surprised she hasn't got all the bank statements etc.

SevenOfNine

My mother is quite comfortably off, & took to spreading some of it around the family with gifts of money or paying for items on their behalf. As she only really deals with cash, she started randomly drawing out much larger sums than usual on her monthly visits to the branch.

Increasingly frail, they began questioning her on what the cash was for. Fair enough, to protect her & themselves, but try telling that to an old person. It was her money & she wanted it!

She was flagged up as 'vulnerable' & every visit, be it for a little or a lot of cash, led to telephone calls being made by the bank to head office or somewhere equally as time consuming to reach, for authorisation to let her have any of it. This was creating upset for her & difficulty in the bank, so my name was added to the account & a £500 withdrawal limit was set for her unless I was with her, only then could she draw more.

I have a debit card & she remains more than capable of checking her paper bank statements, all her bills are paid by DD. I keep a cash float for those who do her shopping or purchase incidentals etc because she never pays anyone!

Some months ago she seemed to slip a bit mentally & that's when the POA was activated in the bank, so I can step further in, IF it becomes necessary, to stop her completely if she starts overdoing the 'giving' thing. She still has enough mental capacity to manage financially but worries that she has "too much in the bank" so has these flashes of generosity with no comprehension of gifting rules.

She resents even being marginally financially 'managed', ticks off all her income/outgoings on the monthly statements, brings them to show me, grilled me on 2 small ATM withdrawals I made to pay people, then does as she's done all her adult life, she files them.

I spoke with the fraud dept again today, the a/c was considered 'compromised' & my conversation with a fraud operative who casually threw me off back to customer services last night, has been described by them as "inadequate". A SO had been set up & £995 requested & removed from her a/c. As it had not yet reached the recipient the fraud dept blocked it today & have promised it will be back in her a/c in a day or two.

I was asked what platform I used for on-line banking, but for this a/c the answer is NONE, on-line & phone banking has not been activated. The fraud operative was extremely vague about what might have happened, fair enough, they need some time to investigate I expect so I'll wait to see what they say.

born_again

SevenOfNine wrote: »

I was asked what platform I used for on-line banking, but for this a/c the answer is NONE, on-line & phone banking has not been activated. The fraud operative was extremely vague about what might have happened, fair enough, they need some time to investigate I expect so I'll wait to see what they say.

I would get online banking activated on the account. While your mother might not like it, she does not need to know that you are monitoring the account in this manner. Also gives you piece of mind that all is OK with the account without having to speak to your mother.

It is possible that a 3rd party has set it up, but if they had I would expect to see money transferred out of the account. Not a S/O set up.
So it could be a simple sort/acc error by someone.

Zanderman

SevenOfNine wrote: »

..........She resents even being marginally financially 'managed', ticks off all her income/outgoings on the monthly statements, brings them to show me, grilled me on 2 small ATM withdrawals I made to pay people, then does as she's done all her adult life, she files them............

That's fine, my mother was the same, but it's no reason not to have online banking activated and in use by you under PoA. If she's vulnerable you need to be able to monitor what's going on - manage if necessary, but if not necessary just monitor. You can't do that with just a debit card - just having that is, surely, pointless, as it doesn't address the vulnerability, which is the point of the PoA..

Katiehound

I had POA for my mother (now many years ago.)
She would continually buy things mail order that she did not need- talk about frittering money away! I managed to talk to all the mail order companies, eventually and prevent purchases but it was hard work.....
At the time she was with Giro Bank- all by phone so that I was registered once the POA kicked in.

Possibly a silly question. As she likes spending her own money she can't have set up a SO herself, can she??.

msallen

You don't say what bank your mother is with, but I have PoA for my mother with Santander and I get a copy of her statements over and above the normal copy sent to her.

I also have online banking for it which I can access when I log into my own account - it just shows as another account alongside my mortgage, credit card etc.

(Having said that I also have PoA for a very rarely used old account with NatWest and they DON'T send copy statements to me, although I do still have online access)