I think my daughter has a CIFAS marker?

jackywacky

Two years ago my daughter who was 17  at the time was stupid enough to allow someone to do fraud on her bank account. Unsurprisingly the account was closed, so she opened a Stirling account and shortly afterwards that was closed, she tried to open accounts with other banks and they all denied her.
Although we have never fully checked I'm guessing she had a CIFAS marker put on her.
Pockit was the only bank to allow her to open an account but it's expensive to run.
I think she has learned her lesson now, realises how silly she was and now wants to open an account with a 'normal' bank
Any ideas on how to progress on this one? Should she just apply to a bank and see what happens or should she check first to see if there are any markers on her, if so how would she go about checking.
Thanks for reading

eskbanker

She should submit a Subject Access Request to CIFAS to check what they have on record for her....

https://www.cifas.org.uk/dsar

A first party fraud marker will last for six years so if that's what she has then she'll still have some time to go before being able to access mainstream products again.

colsten

As long as she has a CIFAS marker (6 years from when it was first 'awarded'), she won't get any current account with any bank. The CIFAS marker might even impact her ability to get employment. It is imperative that she gets the SAR, as suggested above, and also checks what is on her credit reference files. The more current account she applies for in a short space of time, the more her credit files will deteriorate, so she should stop applying before she hasn't got a clear picture of her problems currently are.

POCKIT is really her only short- and medium- term alternative. She should consider the POCKIT charges as her fine, and should be grateful she got away with such a low fine. POCKIT is, by the way, not a bank but a prepaid card.

Sandtree

jackywacky said:

Two years ago my daughter who was 17  at the time was stupid enough to allow someone to do fraud on her bank account. 

I'm not sure you can allow someone to "do fraud on her bank"? Sounds more like she was part of an attempted fraud.

Your daughter is 19 so can do a SAR request as suggested or alternatively could sign up to one of the several free options to view her credit file that are available which also normally highlight CIFAS marks.

colsten

Sandtree said:

Your daughter is 19 so can do a SAR request as suggested or alternatively could sign up to one of the several free options to view her credit file that are available which also normally highlight CIFAS marks.

Credit Reference files will not show all CIFAS markers, and will also not show who placed the markers, and when

eskbanker

Sandtree said:

Your daughter is 19 so can do a SAR request as suggested or alternatively could sign up to one of the several free options to view her credit file that are available which also normally highlight CIFAS marks.

No, as stated on that CIFAS SAR page, only victim markers will show on credit files, not the more troublesome fraud-related ones:

Do Cifas markers show on my credit report?

A credit report will only show Cifas 'victim markers'. Victim markers – ‘Victim of Impersonation’ and ‘Victim of Takeover’ – remain in place for 13 months on the Cifas Databases from the date of submission.

Ed-1

colsten said:

Sandtree said:

Your daughter is 19 so can do a SAR request as suggested or alternatively could sign up to one of the several free options to view her credit file that are available which also normally highlight CIFAS marks.

Credit Reference files will not show all CIFAS markers, and will also not show who placed the markers, and when

To be clear, all CIFAS markers will show on credit files to the companies checking them, but only victim ones to the consumer. It's important to realise this and it also makes it easier for companies to discover CIFAS markers as many get a monthly feed from credit reference agencies, unlike other fraud prevention markets such as National Hunter and SIRA which can only be checkedoof an application is made to that company.

One of the Ombudsman cases I read made the above clear when Experian made a consumer aware of a CIFAS marker on their credit file which wasn't visible to the consumer.

yksi

She should also check all three CRAs to see if she has defaults, missed payments or finance arrangements she doesn't know about. If she allowed her bank and personal details to be used, they could have racked up debts or gone into contracts that she's now responsible for.

sparklep0ny

Ed-1 said:

colsten said:

Sandtree said:

Your daughter is 19 so can do a SAR request as suggested or alternatively could sign up to one of the several free options to view her credit file that are available which also normally highlight CIFAS marks.

Credit Reference files will not show all CIFAS markers, and will also not show who placed the markers, and when

To be clear, all CIFAS markers will show on credit files to the companies checking them, but only victim ones to the consumer. It's important to realise this and it also makes it easier for companies to discover CIFAS markers as many get a monthly feed from credit reference agencies, unlike other fraud prevention markets such as National Hunter and SIRA which can only be checkedoof an application is made to that company.

One of the Ombudsman cases I read made the above clear when Experian made a consumer aware of a CIFAS marker on their credit file which wasn't visible to the consumer.

This is incorrect.  Companies get CIFAS data from CIFAS themselves.  The principle of reciprocity would be entirely useless if data was being shared via the CRA's.

cymruchris

If it was 2 years ago - then as above - there'll be another 4 years before she can begin banking relationships again. CIFAS markers are used to ensure those that have been involved in fraud aren't able to get mainstream facilities easily for quite a period of time. What might have appeared to her as 'easy money' when she was 17 will now cause her problems for the next 4 years. If it was easy to get rid of a CIFAS marker because someone was 'young' or 'naive' then the fraudsters would exploit it, and fraud levels would grow. This is one of those times where it's a bitter pill to swallow, but it is what it is, and eventually she'll be through it, and can start again.  

Ed-1

sparklep0ny said:

Ed-1 said:

colsten said:

Sandtree said:

Your daughter is 19 so can do a SAR request as suggested or alternatively could sign up to one of the several free options to view her credit file that are available which also normally highlight CIFAS marks.

Credit Reference files will not show all CIFAS markers, and will also not show who placed the markers, and when

To be clear, all CIFAS markers will show on credit files to the companies checking them, but only victim ones to the consumer. It's important to realise this and it also makes it easier for companies to discover CIFAS markers as many get a monthly feed from credit reference agencies, unlike other fraud prevention markets such as National Hunter and SIRA which can only be checkedoof an application is made to that company.

One of the Ombudsman cases I read made the above clear when Experian made a consumer aware of a CIFAS marker on their credit file which wasn't visible to the consumer.

This is incorrect.  Companies get CIFAS data from CIFAS themselves.  The principle of reciprocity would be entirely useless if data was being shared via the CRA's.

They are shared via CRAs but only to CIFAS members

The below is from FOS case DRN8167626