Direct Debit Security / Fraud Advice

Samwell94

First time poster - I hope I have put this in the correct place 

Over the last 6 months I have had numerous direct debits set up without my knowledge on my bank account.
These have consisted of: Phone Contracts, Utility Bills, Broadband, Home Insurance.

After some digging with the individual companies involved, it appears my identity has been stolen, as somebody has set them all up with my Name, Date of Birth, my Bank Account and Sort Code, and my Old Address.
Interestingly, they have managed to switch Energy and Broadband providers at my old address, without the current owners' consent, and at my cost!
All money has been returned (due to Direct Debit laws).

I have since changed my Bank Account, and have not provided my Bank Account Details to anybody other than the remaining 6 direct debits I have on my account. (I haven't even given the details to my partner or family!)
Strangely enough, the Fraud has started again within a month of closing the old bank account and more Direct Debits have been set up and the companies have confirmed my details have been used fraudulently again! 

My Bank has no power to act any further.
The companies responsible for the direct debits will not investigate because they are nominal amounts of money, and the cost to investigate would be greater than the money lost to the Direct Debit indemnity.
Having spoken to the Police and Action Fraud UK, the following law applies:
"The use of another person's identification details (or the use of false identification details), often referred to as 'identity theft', is not an offence in law. We can only record a crime report on behalf of companies or organisations which incur a loss as a result of the misuse of your identity."
So I am powerless to push for further investigation without the support of these companies.

I'm relatively clued up on personal security (currently working for a large tech company, where security is a huge part of what we do), and I can say confidently that I have not exposed my Bank Details knowingly since the new account was set up.

At face value, it seems impossible that the fraudster could be benefiting enough from just me to make this worthwhile (especially given that I always claim the money back and close the accounts), so I'm wondering if anybody else has experienced this before?

I've been given 2 options:
Sign up for CIFAS (which will stop new credit applications without my approval, but cannot stop new Direct Debits - this will also make it more time-consuming for me to get credit)
Wait for the fraudster to do something bigger that costs a company enough to fully investigate (I'd rather not have a huge debt racked up in my name!)

Has anybody heard of this before? And does anybody have any opinions on next steps? (Perhaps even who I could write to, to warn others of the lack of protection in law!)

I appreciate any reads, opinions and responses, as I'm being driven round the bend by this 

Ed-1

Samwell94 said:

First time poster - I hope I have put this in the correct place 

Over the last 6 months I have had numerous direct debits set up without my knowledge on my bank account.
These have consisted of: Phone Contracts, Utility Bills, Broadband, Home Insurance.

After some digging with the individual companies involved, it appears my identity has been stolen, as somebody has set them all up with my Name, Date of Birth, my Bank Account and Sort Code, and my Old Address.
Interestingly, they have managed to switch Energy and Broadband providers at my old address, without the current owners' consent, and at my cost!
All money has been returned (due to Direct Debit laws).

I have since changed my Bank Account, and have not provided my Bank Account Details to anybody other than the remaining 6 direct debits I have on my account. (I haven't even given the details to my partner or family!)
Strangely enough, the Fraud has started again within a month of closing the old bank account and more Direct Debits have been set up and the companies have confirmed my details have been used fraudulently again! 

My Bank has no power to act any further.
The companies responsible for the direct debits will not investigate because they are nominal amounts of money, and the cost to investigate would be greater than the money lost to the Direct Debit indemnity.
Having spoken to the Police and Action Fraud UK, the following law applies:
"The use of another person's identification details (or the use of false identification details), often referred to as 'identity theft', is not an offence in law. We can only record a crime report on behalf of companies or organisations which incur a loss as a result of the misuse of your identity."
So I am powerless to push for further investigation without the support of these companies.

I'm relatively clued up on personal security (currently working for a large tech company, where security is a huge part of what we do), and I can say confidently that I have not exposed my Bank Details knowingly since the new account was set up.

At face value, it seems impossible that the fraudster could be benefiting enough from just me to make this worthwhile (especially given that I always claim the money back and close the accounts), so I'm wondering if anybody else has experienced this before?

I've been given 2 options:
Sign up for CIFAS (which will stop new credit applications without my approval, but cannot stop new Direct Debits - this will also make it more time-consuming for me to get credit)
Wait for the fraudster to do something bigger that costs a company enough to fully investigate (I'd rather not have a huge debt racked up in my name!)

Has anybody heard of this before? And does anybody have any opinions on next steps? (Perhaps even who I could write to, to warn others of the lack of protection in law!)

I appreciate any reads, opinions and responses, as I'm being driven round the bend by this 

When you close your affected current account, do you switch the account out? If so any direct debits set up on the old account are forwarded to be set up on the new account. You need to close without switching.

Samwell94

Ed-1 said:

Samwell94 said:

First time poster - I hope I have put this in the correct place 

Over the last 6 months I have had numerous direct debits set up without my knowledge on my bank account.
These have consisted of: Phone Contracts, Utility Bills, Broadband, Home Insurance.

After some digging with the individual companies involved, it appears my identity has been stolen, as somebody has set them all up with my Name, Date of Birth, my Bank Account and Sort Code, and my Old Address.
Interestingly, they have managed to switch Energy and Broadband providers at my old address, without the current owners' consent, and at my cost!
All money has been returned (due to Direct Debit laws).

I have since changed my Bank Account, and have not provided my Bank Account Details to anybody other than the remaining 6 direct debits I have on my account. (I haven't even given the details to my partner or family!)
Strangely enough, the Fraud has started again within a month of closing the old bank account and more Direct Debits have been set up and the companies have confirmed my details have been used fraudulently again! 

My Bank has no power to act any further.
The companies responsible for the direct debits will not investigate because they are nominal amounts of money, and the cost to investigate would be greater than the money lost to the Direct Debit indemnity.
Having spoken to the Police and Action Fraud UK, the following law applies:
"The use of another person's identification details (or the use of false identification details), often referred to as 'identity theft', is not an offence in law. We can only record a crime report on behalf of companies or organisations which incur a loss as a result of the misuse of your identity."
So I am powerless to push for further investigation without the support of these companies.

I'm relatively clued up on personal security (currently working for a large tech company, where security is a huge part of what we do), and I can say confidently that I have not exposed my Bank Details knowingly since the new account was set up.

At face value, it seems impossible that the fraudster could be benefiting enough from just me to make this worthwhile (especially given that I always claim the money back and close the accounts), so I'm wondering if anybody else has experienced this before?

I've been given 2 options:
Sign up for CIFAS (which will stop new credit applications without my approval, but cannot stop new Direct Debits - this will also make it more time-consuming for me to get credit)
Wait for the fraudster to do something bigger that costs a company enough to fully investigate (I'd rather not have a huge debt racked up in my name!)

Has anybody heard of this before? And does anybody have any opinions on next steps? (Perhaps even who I could write to, to warn others of the lack of protection in law!)

I appreciate any reads, opinions and responses, as I'm being driven round the bend by this 

When you close your affected current account, do you switch the account out? If so any direct debits set up on the old account are forwarded to be set up on the new account. You need to close without switching.

It wasn't a "switch" as such, it was a brand new bank account, and closing the original immediately.

No switch process was initiated, and all direct debits had to be switched in an incredibly painful manual process. The Bank were actually in disbelief that it has happened again.

Having spoken to the latest company involved they also confirmed the new Account Number was submitted by the unknown person.

thank you for the consideration, though!

jsmith9

Two things jump out at me when reading your post

he first thing is that as you say there is very little financial gain for the other person and so maybe the reason they are doing it is to get back at you - to cause you grief so to speak - rather than trying to actually make any money

the second thing is that they seem to have got hold rather easily of your second account number

put these two things together and maybe you may be able to find out what is going on ..

DCFC79

Samwell94 said:

Ed-1 said:

Samwell94 said:

First time poster - I hope I have put this in the correct place 

Over the last 6 months I have had numerous direct debits set up without my knowledge on my bank account.
These have consisted of: Phone Contracts, Utility Bills, Broadband, Home Insurance.

After some digging with the individual companies involved, it appears my identity has been stolen, as somebody has set them all up with my Name, Date of Birth, my Bank Account and Sort Code, and my Old Address.
Interestingly, they have managed to switch Energy and Broadband providers at my old address, without the current owners' consent, and at my cost!
All money has been returned (due to Direct Debit laws).

I have since changed my Bank Account, and have not provided my Bank Account Details to anybody other than the remaining 6 direct debits I have on my account. (I haven't even given the details to my partner or family!)
Strangely enough, the Fraud has started again within a month of closing the old bank account and more Direct Debits have been set up and the companies have confirmed my details have been used fraudulently again! 

My Bank has no power to act any further.
The companies responsible for the direct debits will not investigate because they are nominal amounts of money, and the cost to investigate would be greater than the money lost to the Direct Debit indemnity.
Having spoken to the Police and Action Fraud UK, the following law applies:
"The use of another person's identification details (or the use of false identification details), often referred to as 'identity theft', is not an offence in law. We can only record a crime report on behalf of companies or organisations which incur a loss as a result of the misuse of your identity."
So I am powerless to push for further investigation without the support of these companies.

I'm relatively clued up on personal security (currently working for a large tech company, where security is a huge part of what we do), and I can say confidently that I have not exposed my Bank Details knowingly since the new account was set up.

At face value, it seems impossible that the fraudster could be benefiting enough from just me to make this worthwhile (especially given that I always claim the money back and close the accounts), so I'm wondering if anybody else has experienced this before?

I've been given 2 options:
Sign up for CIFAS (which will stop new credit applications without my approval, but cannot stop new Direct Debits - this will also make it more time-consuming for me to get credit)
Wait for the fraudster to do something bigger that costs a company enough to fully investigate (I'd rather not have a huge debt racked up in my name!)

Has anybody heard of this before? And does anybody have any opinions on next steps? (Perhaps even who I could write to, to warn others of the lack of protection in law!)

I appreciate any reads, opinions and responses, as I'm being driven round the bend by this 

When you close your affected current account, do you switch the account out? If so any direct debits set up on the old account are forwarded to be set up on the new account. You need to close without switching.

It wasn't a "switch" as such, it was a brand new bank account, and closing the original immediately.

No switch process was initiated, and all direct debits had to be switched in an incredibly painful manual process. The Bank were actually in disbelief that it has happened again.

Having spoken to the latest company involved they also confirmed the new Account Number was submitted by the unknown person.

thank you for the consideration, though!

If it were me Id open a new account with another bank and move across any direct debits.
Have you checked the pc is clean of viruses etc ?

Samwell94

jsmith9 said:

Two things jump out at me when reading your post

he first thing is that as you say there is very little financial gain for the other person and so maybe the reason they are doing it is to get back at you - to cause you grief so to speak - rather than trying to actually make any money

the second thing is that they seem to have got hold rather easily of your second account number

put these two things together and maybe you may be able to find out what is going on ..

My other thought on this is that there may be some form of referral/bonus fraud going on here to justify the energy/utility/broadband contracts,

Your thought had definitely crossed my mind, but I can say with certainty that nobody close to me has access to my new Bank Details - I simply won't give them to anybody anymore for this very reason, so I would find it difficult to believe that anybody close with a grievance could obtain this information.
I have even reviewed access logs to online banking with my bank and can confirm no other devices other than my phone have logged in on the last 12 months. Nobody else has physical access to my phone.

My only other suspicion is that a company has an active data leak that has allowed somebody to have access to my details again so easily. 

I'm hoping to find others experiencing the same thing.

I am open to hearing theories, and I appreciate the time taken to reply.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on this.

Samwell94

DCFC79 said:

Samwell94 said:

Ed-1 said:

Samwell94 said:

First time poster - I hope I have put this in the correct place 

Over the last 6 months I have had numerous direct debits set up without my knowledge on my bank account.
These have consisted of: Phone Contracts, Utility Bills, Broadband, Home Insurance.

After some digging with the individual companies involved, it appears my identity has been stolen, as somebody has set them all up with my Name, Date of Birth, my Bank Account and Sort Code, and my Old Address.
Interestingly, they have managed to switch Energy and Broadband providers at my old address, without the current owners' consent, and at my cost!
All money has been returned (due to Direct Debit laws).

I have since changed my Bank Account, and have not provided my Bank Account Details to anybody other than the remaining 6 direct debits I have on my account. (I haven't even given the details to my partner or family!)
Strangely enough, the Fraud has started again within a month of closing the old bank account and more Direct Debits have been set up and the companies have confirmed my details have been used fraudulently again! 

My Bank has no power to act any further.
The companies responsible for the direct debits will not investigate because they are nominal amounts of money, and the cost to investigate would be greater than the money lost to the Direct Debit indemnity.
Having spoken to the Police and Action Fraud UK, the following law applies:
"The use of another person's identification details (or the use of false identification details), often referred to as 'identity theft', is not an offence in law. We can only record a crime report on behalf of companies or organisations which incur a loss as a result of the misuse of your identity."
So I am powerless to push for further investigation without the support of these companies.

I'm relatively clued up on personal security (currently working for a large tech company, where security is a huge part of what we do), and I can say confidently that I have not exposed my Bank Details knowingly since the new account was set up.

At face value, it seems impossible that the fraudster could be benefiting enough from just me to make this worthwhile (especially given that I always claim the money back and close the accounts), so I'm wondering if anybody else has experienced this before?

I've been given 2 options:
Sign up for CIFAS (which will stop new credit applications without my approval, but cannot stop new Direct Debits - this will also make it more time-consuming for me to get credit)
Wait for the fraudster to do something bigger that costs a company enough to fully investigate (I'd rather not have a huge debt racked up in my name!)

Has anybody heard of this before? And does anybody have any opinions on next steps? (Perhaps even who I could write to, to warn others of the lack of protection in law!)

I appreciate any reads, opinions and responses, as I'm being driven round the bend by this 

When you close your affected current account, do you switch the account out? If so any direct debits set up on the old account are forwarded to be set up on the new account. You need to close without switching.

It wasn't a "switch" as such, it was a brand new bank account, and closing the original immediately.

No switch process was initiated, and all direct debits had to be switched in an incredibly painful manual process. The Bank were actually in disbelief that it has happened again.

Having spoken to the latest company involved they also confirmed the new Account Number was submitted by the unknown person.

thank you for the consideration, though!

If it were me Id open a new account with another bank and move across any direct debits.

This definitely sounds like a decent idea - just in case my bank has slipped up in any way I suppose -  thank you!

Samwell94

DCFC79 said:

Samwell94 said:

Ed-1 said:

Samwell94 said:

First time poster - I hope I have put this in the correct place 

Over the last 6 months I have had numerous direct debits set up without my knowledge on my bank account.
These have consisted of: Phone Contracts, Utility Bills, Broadband, Home Insurance.

After some digging with the individual companies involved, it appears my identity has been stolen, as somebody has set them all up with my Name, Date of Birth, my Bank Account and Sort Code, and my Old Address.
Interestingly, they have managed to switch Energy and Broadband providers at my old address, without the current owners' consent, and at my cost!
All money has been returned (due to Direct Debit laws).

I have since changed my Bank Account, and have not provided my Bank Account Details to anybody other than the remaining 6 direct debits I have on my account. (I haven't even given the details to my partner or family!)
Strangely enough, the Fraud has started again within a month of closing the old bank account and more Direct Debits have been set up and the companies have confirmed my details have been used fraudulently again! 

My Bank has no power to act any further.
The companies responsible for the direct debits will not investigate because they are nominal amounts of money, and the cost to investigate would be greater than the money lost to the Direct Debit indemnity.
Having spoken to the Police and Action Fraud UK, the following law applies:
"The use of another person's identification details (or the use of false identification details), often referred to as 'identity theft', is not an offence in law. We can only record a crime report on behalf of companies or organisations which incur a loss as a result of the misuse of your identity."
So I am powerless to push for further investigation without the support of these companies.

I'm relatively clued up on personal security (currently working for a large tech company, where security is a huge part of what we do), and I can say confidently that I have not exposed my Bank Details knowingly since the new account was set up.

At face value, it seems impossible that the fraudster could be benefiting enough from just me to make this worthwhile (especially given that I always claim the money back and close the accounts), so I'm wondering if anybody else has experienced this before?

I've been given 2 options:
Sign up for CIFAS (which will stop new credit applications without my approval, but cannot stop new Direct Debits - this will also make it more time-consuming for me to get credit)
Wait for the fraudster to do something bigger that costs a company enough to fully investigate (I'd rather not have a huge debt racked up in my name!)

Has anybody heard of this before? And does anybody have any opinions on next steps? (Perhaps even who I could write to, to warn others of the lack of protection in law!)

I appreciate any reads, opinions and responses, as I'm being driven round the bend by this 

When you close your affected current account, do you switch the account out? If so any direct debits set up on the old account are forwarded to be set up on the new account. You need to close without switching.

It wasn't a "switch" as such, it was a brand new bank account, and closing the original immediately.

No switch process was initiated, and all direct debits had to be switched in an incredibly painful manual process. The Bank were actually in disbelief that it has happened again.

Having spoken to the latest company involved they also confirmed the new Account Number was submitted by the unknown person.

thank you for the consideration, though!

If it were me Id open a new account with another bank and move across any direct debits.
Have you checked the pc is clean of viruses etc ?

Also forgot to say, I have completed a virus and malware scan, and nothing was found!

colsten

It must be somebody who knows you. They need not only your name, DOB and address to set up new accounts, they also need your bank details for the DDs, and for the utility switches, they need to know your current provider. I agree that they are unlikely to benefit financially, and 'just' want to be a nuisance to you. If you can establish who would know all those details, you have probably found the culprit(s). 

Samwell94

colsten said:

It must be somebody who knows you. They need not only your name, DOB and address to set up new accounts, they also need your bank details for the DDs, and for the utility switches, they need to know your current provider. I agree that they are unlikely to benefit financially, and 'just' want to be a nuisance to you. If you can establish who would know all those details, you have probably found the culprit(s). 

So here's the interesting thing - they aren't even changing my provider, they're changing it at the old address (turns out that an old address is actually enough to pass a credit check nowadays with a decent credit score)

I don't even know their current providers at that address,
It turns out that you can perform a switch without that information (or incorrect information - perhaps an oversight in the process)

I suppose the other problem is that I will never be able to prove if it is somebody I know, because the police will not investigate without the law on my side.

And without wanting to sound obtuse, somebody who knows me will know my career, income and a pretty solid idea of my credit rating, and would know they could get away with a lot more money.

Other than lobbying my local MP (or maybe hiring a private investigator) what's a guy to do?

Thanks for the line of enquiry though, it's something I definitely need to consider,

My main thought here is that something needs to change in the law to enable me to actually tackle this.

eddddy

Samwell94 said:

And without wanting to sound obtuse, somebody who knows me will know my career, income and a pretty solid idea of my credit rating, and would know they could get away with a lot more money.

It doesn't sound like the motive is to steal your money. (Setting up a home insurance policy and changing utility providers won't achieve that.)

It sounds more like pranksters - who might be inconveniencing you for their own amusement.  Or somebody you've upset, who is taking revenge on you.

On that basis, I doubt it's based on anything sophisticated like malware or viruses on your computer. Do live in a block of flats with a shared post box? Have any bank statements etc gone missing in the post? Do you pay anyone by cheque?