Barclaycard Credit Card Scam

ian_barty1999

Good afternoon,

I felt this would be a good place to enquire about this, any advice would be welcomed.

To give you some info on the issue I faced.

I settled and closed a Barclaycard Credit card in August 2019. I received a text a few weeks ago, advising that I was in line for a refund.

This message seemed completely out of the blue and my initial thoughts were, I don’t believe this to be true. At this stage I didn’t pursue it any further.

I then, a week ago received a letter advising me that I was in line for a refund of £350 in relation to unfair charges and fees. I was concerned as, the last 4 digits of my Credit card were in the heading of the letter. The letter didn’t sit right with me, working in a bank, the logo didn’t lol right, there was no header/footer on the letter, it just didn’t look like an official document.

Also included with the letter was a form in which I had to provide my bank details to indicate where I wanted these funds paid.
Also, I needed to provide a statement to prove that this was my account.

I was never going to do this and decided the best cause of action was to check Barclays official website and I found their customer service number. I spoke to a really helpful advisor, he confirmed there was no such letter on my file and couldn’t see any evidence to why I’d receive such an offer, he advised me to take the letter into a branch.

I’ve since been into a branch and they’ve confirmed my suspicion’s that it was a fraudulent letter. I’ve since securely destroyed the letter.

This whole experience has really concerned at me as, not only was this sent to my home address but, whomever has carried out this scan has also correctly identified the last 4 digits of this particular credit card that has been closed for just over a year.

I would welcome any advice as to what my next move should be. I’m concerned that my personal details have been accessed and I’ve clearly been hacked.

I don’t know whether to replace my handset/iPad as this is the only way I can think this information has been accessed. 

I welcome any advice

Kind regards 
Ian 

[Deleted User]

The breach will be either physical or digital, so you need to clean up all your devices (factory reset will be sufficient as a last resort, you don't need to replace them) and then check your physical security of statements and cards.

ian_barty1999

Thank you for your reply and advice 
i’ll do that 

jonesMUFCforever

In my experience bank staff have no idea of what a fraudulent document is or not.
Given your limited posting history I will say no more.
Just read below;


In mid-2020, Barclaycard started sending a letter to some customers saying where they may have had raised their credit limit too high. ... In 2018 Barclays started a major refund program to customers with overdrafts, loans or credit cards who had been charged interest when Barclays knew they were in financial difficulty.

JGB1955

Do you shred your credit card receipts or just put them in the bin?  They will have the last 4 digits of your card on them and might make you open to opportunities from scammers.

born_again

Given how many companies have been hacked (British Airways) etc.
That is where the details will have come from.

TBH. I would ring Barclaycard on a known number, not one in the letter, which you should have been passed to the branch staff. Fact they did not ask for it speaks volumes about their knowledge of fraud and what is happening at Barclaycard.

As to your devices. Leave then as they are. Will have nothing to do with them. Unless you want to run Malware & Virus checks on them, but that should be standard practise anyway.

ian_barty1999

Thank you everyone for their replies.

i did shred all documents in relation to the account as and when I closed it so, I don’t think there’s been a paper issue.

i did get a phone number off of the website and phoned them, they couldn’t find any reference of the letter their end so, I went into a branch and they confirmed it was fraudulent.

I do already run virus software. Just it’s left me a bit spooked.

jonesMUFCforever said:

In my experience bank staff have no idea of what a fraudulent document is or not.
Given your limited posting history I will say no more.
Just read below;


In mid-2020, Barclaycard started sending a letter to some customers saying where they may have had raised their credit limit too high. ... In 2018 Barclays started a major refund program to customers with overdrafts, loans or credit cards who had been charged interest when Barclays knew they were in financial difficulty.

I mean no offence to you, Was there any need for the dig that bank staff don’t know fraudulent documents aimed at me? you don’t know me and seems rather unnecessary. 

I have limited posting history as, I literally joined today and having looked into this thought this would be great source to seek advice. Seems a bit harsh seeing as you don’t know me.

D3xt3r5L4b

ian_barty1999 said:

Thank you everyone for their replies.

i did shred all documents in relation to the account as and when I closed it so, I don’t think there’s been a paper issue.

i did get a phone number off of the website and phoned them, they couldn’t find any reference of the letter their end so, I went into a branch and they confirmed it was fraudulent.

I do already run virus software. Just it’s left me a bit spooked.

jonesMUFCforever said:

In my experience bank staff have no idea of what a fraudulent document is or not.
Given your limited posting history I will say no more.
Just read below;


In mid-2020, Barclaycard started sending a letter to some customers saying where they may have had raised their credit limit too high. ... In 2018 Barclays started a major refund program to customers with overdrafts, loans or credit cards who had been charged interest when Barclays knew they were in financial difficulty.

I mean no offence to you, Was there any need for the dig that bank staff don’t know fraudulent documents aimed at me? you don’t know me and seems rather unnecessary. 

I have limited posting history as, I literally joined today and having looked into this thought this would be great source to seek advice. Seems a bit harsh seeing as you don’t know me.

I read it as more of an information/advisory post not a dig aimed at you as an individual. 

Gerry1

It could well be simple everyday data leakage rather than a clever technical scam.  Is your security hygiene as good as it should be? Perhaps not.

Your user name seems to include your real name and year of birth.  If so, and you share similar personal info elsewhere online, then it might well be a doddle for anyone trying to build a digital picture of you from publicly available data.

The last four digits are printed on receipts, so if you throw one in the bin or don't take it the that's a possibility; it may also appear on the merchant's copy, e.g. at the restaurant where you booked a table in your name without withholding your landline number - which appears in the directory along with your address.  You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to follow that trail.

It could be even easier.  That sharp eyed barman watches the card reader whirring away as it prints out your receipt and just happens to notice that Mr. Barty's Barclaycard ends in 4321 before he hands back it to you.  Oh, and did you notice that quick sleight of hand as he glanced at the CVV number on the reverse of the card when you first handed it to him?  There's a good chance that you live in the same town, and once again the Phone Book is his friend.  It's worth posting you that phishing letter.

And of course, if you've ever mentioned on Facebook or Twitter that it's your birthday?  Voilà - lots of other avenues have opened up  !

If as a good guy I can spot how all the relevant info could easily have been obtained, no doubt real criminals would know of umpteen more methods.

So with all due respect you may need to look in the mirror rather than at your computer hardware, although all the usual security checks should still take place.

jonesMUFCforever

ian_barty1999 said:

Thank you everyone for their replies.

i did shred all documents in relation to the account as and when I closed it so, I don’t think there’s been a paper issue.

i did get a phone number off of the website and phoned them, they couldn’t find any reference of the letter their end so, I went into a branch and they confirmed it was fraudulent.

I do already run virus software. Just it’s left me a bit spooked.

jonesMUFCforever said:

In my experience bank staff have no idea of what a fraudulent document is or not.
Given your limited posting history I will say no more.
Just read below;


In mid-2020, Barclaycard started sending a letter to some customers saying where they may have had raised their credit limit too high. ... In 2018 Barclays started a major refund program to customers with overdrafts, loans or credit cards who had been charged interest when Barclays knew they were in financial difficulty.

I mean no offence to you, Was there any need for the dig that bank staff don’t know fraudulent documents aimed at me? you don’t know me and seems rather unnecessary. 

I have limited posting history as, I literally joined today and having looked into this thought this would be great source to seek advice. Seems a bit harsh seeing as you don’t know me.

What if I tell you that I do not think that it is a scam but genuine?
Even if somebody had got hold of your confetti statements and actually got hold of the last 4 digits (which Barclaycard do by the way as I still have mine) how would they also get hold of your mobile number?

So you have now destroyed the letter - you will now have to wait until they contact you again - probably you will get the same letter - if you are not happy to provide bank details of where the money should be paid to - cross it out and ask for a cheque.

Gerry1

It's definitely a scam, absolutely no doubt about it.  My Barclaycard was in credit for a while because of a credit (I only used it abroad), and they just sent me a cheque out of the blue.