Child's bank account has been hacked, £150 with of Google play transactions

colsten

onthemend88 said:

TadleyBaggie said:

onthemend88 said:
They also said it would be reported to the police which has scared her but I have told her this is what they need to do to try and catch whoever has done this. 

Doubt the police will have the slightest interest in this, I suspect they meant Action Fraud. 

I have just looked at action fraud and suspect this will be the case. What will Action Fraud do to help?

Almost certainly nothing. They'll just add it to their crime statistics.

onthemend88

colsten said:

Almost certainly nothing. They'll just add it to their crime statistics.

That is so bad. I wish things like this were taken more seriously

born_again

onthemend88 said:

I have just come off the phone with Natwest and they have also opened up a fraud case which will be investigated within 5 working days. They also said it would be reported to the police which has scared her but I have told her this is what they need to do to try and catch whoever has done this. 

Genuinely gutted for her and really hope google or Natwest are able to find out who made these transactions so that they can give her money back. 

Please do not take this the wrong way.
They mention the police as often it is the account holder or other family member who has inadvertently made the transactions. Its amazing how many young children do not realise they are spending real money when playing some games.
(Have you checked her google account?)
I have seen many do this. 
Is there a debit card with this account?

It only would be reported to the police as a bulk item if they find out where it happened. They will not be contacting the police on one case alone.

onthemend88

born_again said:

Please do not take this the wrong way.
They mention the police as often it is the account holder or other family member who has inadvertently made the transactions. Its amazing how many young children do not realise they are spending real money when playing some games.
(Have you checked her google account?)
I have seen many do this. 
Is there a debit card with this account?

It only would be reported to the police as a bulk item if they find out where it happened. They will not be contacting the police on one case alone.

Hi, 

No, no offence taken at all - my son run up a large phonebill a few years ago with something he had subscribed to but didnt know he had to pay. 

I did ask her and she was adamant it wasn't her. I believe her, she cannot lie to save her life. I have asked her brother and sister and they also have not used her bank account, I believe them also. 

I have not been able to access her google play account as it had been blocked, and now suspended whilst google investigate however when I managed to get through to google on live chat, they said it seemed most of the transactions were linked up to a different country.

The rare payments of £4.99 we have made, I have ensured that her bank card is deleted from her google account after the purchase and she also doesn't know the password for her google play account either.

DCFC79

You say you had a password on the account so when a purchsse was attempted it needed to be entered, the fraudster was very good to know what the password is to make the purchsses.

onthemend88

DCFC79 said:

You say you had a password on the account so when a purchsse was attempted it needed to be entered, the fraudster was very good to know what the password is to make the purchsses.

Yes, there was a password on the account.

Google have already confirmed many of the transactions appeared to be made from another country so unless my 11 year old daughter has been to another country, during a lockdown, without us knowing, then yes they must have been good. 

Thanks for your helpful comment. 

niktheguru

Onthemend8k, don’t beat yourself up too much about this. It sounds like you were a victim of something anyone could be. You are trying to learn from it and prevent it from happening again. You took what you thought were adequate precautions but were caught out. I hope the bank can cover this for you and you get some justice. Keep us informed on the outcome.

onthemend88

niktheguru said:

Onthemend8k, don’t beat yourself up too much about this. It sounds like you were a victim of something anyone could be. You are trying to learn from it and prevent it from happening again. You took what you thought were adequate precautions but were caught out. I hope the bank can cover this for you and you get some justice. Keep us informed on the outcome.

Thank you for your kind comment. I will update as soon as we hear something back. 

xylophone

It is an upsetting situation for you and your child.

Fraud happens.

My relative has a credit card  which  he has not used since  shortly before lockdown and knew that he had paid the last bill which included servicing/MOT for  his car.

He nevertheless continues to check his statement which  is a good thing because he noted a transaction  for Monday last for around £90 which certainly wasn't his!

The card issuer was advised immediately and acted very promptly, cancelling the card and arranging for the issue of a new one (and new pin).

It is distressing to be a victim of crime - let's hope your child gets her money back.

Silvertabby

Rather an odd situation - crooks don't normally hack an account just to play on-line game.

I wonder if the other (genuine) player input their own bank details incorrectly - and mistakenly input your daughter's instead?