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security issue ?

I've had a cash isa languishing (now with virtually nil interest) and am looking to transfer to another provider, something I haven't done for years. I've been looking at a few, mostly those that you can apply for/manage online as i work fulltime, so cant easily go in branch, or they maybe located in another region. i picked one recently, all seems fine, applied online all personal details accepted. Now they have asked me to fill in a form for the Isa transfer in and post it back to them. 
Really!...looking at all the requested details it includes full name, DOB, address, mobile no, email address, current isa account numbers & the new isa account numbers (for which I've already provided these online) all conveniently with my signature?
surely this is a scammers delight - sending all this through the postal system, anyone getting hold of this could pretty much empty my account out in full?

Comments

  • How would they empty your account?
  • How would they empty your account?
    because they have virtually every bit of personal info needed for them to prove identity to gain access (oh, i forgot they also asked for NI number). Are you not aware of media reports of people who have had accounts emptied by some lowlife impersonating them?
    is it not the banks/financial institutions themselves that say you should never put this kind of information out "there", out of your sight- and certainly not in its entirety!!
    letters can be intercepted - maybe just opportunists get hold of it and pass details on for the price of a packet of fags?
  • AlanP_2
    AlanP_2 Posts: 3,293 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 18 November 2020 at 2:02PM
    If you are that concerned use a different ISA provider, may be one with a local branch so you can just tell the person over the counter the information they need (in a whisper obviously)  :)

    Seriously, if you don't feel comfortable don't do it and either leave cash where it is or move it to a provider that doesn't need any personal information from you via snail mail.
  • i just assumed "apply online" meant that all this was actually done online as most of the information was already entered.
    As i said i haven't done this for a few years.
    And to Alan P......no, I'm not paranoid (as implied) just don't want my savings disappearing into the void, loans or credit cards being opened in my name or any kind of other kind of  fraudulent activity - most of which i probably wouldn't even know about until some bruiser came knocking on my door or my credit score plummeted.
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 33,556 Forumite
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    chalkybar said:
    letters can be intercepted - maybe just opportunists get hold of it and pass details on for the price of a packet of fags?
    While this may be the case when mail arrives at flats with communal hallways, etc, the risk is somewhat lower when being sent to a regulated financial institution - obviously anything is theoretically possible within the postal system itself but even there, there's ever more automation that minimises human contact....
  • LHW99
    LHW99 Posts: 4,719 Forumite
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    You can use Guaranteed delivery (not recorded) It's pretty good if expensive.
  • masonic
    masonic Posts: 24,573 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 18 November 2020 at 8:32PM
    You should worry about all of the companies that have your personal information stored in one of their databases. Any one of them could suffer a data breach at any time. Much more likely than a paper form being intercepted in the post.
  • dales1
    dales1 Posts: 241 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Who knows your password chalkybar, except yourself ?
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