Victim of romance fraud

Cardriver45

Thrugelmir said:

That's a lot of calls to make for someone with no concerns. Was your mother asked to make any of these?  From the scammers viewpoint must have wondered why the account wasn't shut down earlier. Normally such activity is detected very quickly and clamped down on. 

How many transactions passed through the account?

There is well over 20 just on cryptocurrency ones alone and then a couple of bank transfers. The supposed friends were from different countries, a couple from the UK, one from the US, one from Spain, I'm not sure the others. All the bank did near the end a month or two ago was lower the limit on the amount that my Mum could send a day.
 
Most paid in no more than £5k except for one who the suspect had claimed was family who paid in the large amount over about 8 months. She was the one whose family eventually called in the police. 

I'm not sure on the phone calls as I just went through her phone and put all the ones down that she made to her bank so some may not even be related to it. She can't remember what they were all related to so I'll need to see when I get the recordings.

Sea_Shell

How on earth has she not been flagged as an international money mule??


I bet there are teenagers out there having their whole banking future turned upside down because of one mistake transfering money for a "friend".

Cardriver45

Sea_Shell said:

How on earth has she not been flagged as an international money mule??


I bet there are teenagers out there having their whole banking future turned upside down because of one mistake transfering money for a "friend".

That's the thing and I think the police got all excited until they came round. The bank asked for the screenshots of the Whatsapp messages which we sent, there are over 4k of pics that I've took of them. 

They've unfrozen her account now and have even given her a personal customer care person to speak to. He sorted out reopening her accounts for her.

Cardriver45

The bank never even told the police. It was the police from Chesire where one of the other victims lived who first flagged it a couple of weeks ago after her family reported it. 

She was one of the first ones who had started paying in since December and continued to pay until recently.

Cardriver45

Maybe I'm wrong, but the bank does seem to be being all nicey nicey to my Mum now, which gives the impression that they feel they've messed up somewhere

warby68

If this relationship lasted for 11 months, did you not suspect anything or did mum keep quiet about it?

In some posts you say mum doesn't recall exactly what was said to and by the Bank and in others, you are quite specific that they did or did not say certain things. Memories can be tricky. I think you are right to see what the calls/transcripts say before building your case, if still appropriate. There is a real risk that whatever the outcome, mum's accounts may be closed and you/she need to weigh that possibility up as well. 

You cannot be 100% sure what actions the Bank took in the background - they are heavily regulated in what can be disclosed and certainly from an external viewpoint your mum may have been the one under suspicion at some points. Certainly that seemed to be the nature of the initial police response where they are disinterested now she is established as a victim.

The Bank may have missed something but they did not screw your mother over, a fraudster did. You are looking for specific actions or inactions which were not appropriate rather than shifting the whole blame onto the bank, so will be best done calmly and analytically.

colsten

Cardriver45 said:

 They didn't even know it was fraud until my Mum phoned them after being visited by the police. 

To be fair, neither did she, and she was a hell of a lot closer to the fraud action than Natwest.

colsten

Cardriver45 said:

 All the bank did near the end a month or two ago was lower the limit on the amount that my Mum could send a day.

 

This was nothing specific / unique to your mum's account. Natwest and RBS have done this across all their current accounts, for everybody.

https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/38107/natwest-lets-customers-set-daily-bank-transfer-limits#:~:text=NatWest is now allowing customers,to £5000 per day.

born_again

Cardriver45 said:

They've even unfrozen the account now that my Mum has told the fraud department was compromised and left it open. So she is now having to get them to close it. They didn't even know it was fraud until my Mum phoned them after being visited by the police. 

I'm confused here.
There is no need to close a account. No one can take money from it. Unless it is via a DD. There is no compromise. As it was all received & sent with the full knowledge of your mother.

Compromise is when a unknown 3rd party has control of account or card details. None of which fits this case.

>> he also tricked her into transferring very large amounts of money from what he claimed were his friends who paid into her account which she then sent onto the suspect as cryptocurrency<<

She must have explained that situation very well to get passed the fraud team. Knowing just how they think, having been there and done that.

Card could have been compromised, but that is not the situation here. As your mother purchased for them >> She also bought gift cards for what he claimed was his teenage son and he manipulated my mother by claiming how upset and how much his son was missing him whilst he was stuck in South Africa<<
She did not give them the card details.

I know this may come across a bit hard. But this is looking at it from the other point of view.

I doubt you will get copies of call recordings, but might get transcripts of them.

Cardriver45

born_again said:

Cardriver45 said:

They've even unfrozen the account now that my Mum has told the fraud department was compromised and left it open. So she is now having to get them to close it. They didn't even know it was fraud until my Mum phoned them after being visited by the police. 

I'm confused here.
There is no need to close a account. No one can take money from it. Unless it is via a DD. There is no compromise. As it was all received & sent with the full knowledge of your mother.

Compromise is when a unknown 3rd party has control of account or card details. None of which fits this case.

>> he also tricked her into transferring very large amounts of money from what he claimed were his friends who paid into her account which she then sent onto the suspect as cryptocurrency<<

She must have explained that situation very well to get passed the fraud team. Knowing just how they think, having been there and done that.

Card could have been compromised, but that is not the situation here. As your mother purchased for them >> She also bought gift cards for what he claimed was his teenage son and he manipulated my mother by claiming how upset and how much his son was missing him whilst he was stuck in South Africa<<
She did not give them the card details.

I know this may come across a bit hard. But this is looking at it from the other point of view.

I doubt you will get copies of call recordings, but might get transcripts of them.

Unfortunately, she also gave them all the bank and card details which she's told the bank, she says.

Although she bought the gift cards herself, the suspect also purchased other items using her card.

As far as what she told the bank I'm not sure on that one as I would need to hear the recordings or see the transcripts. She says she told them it was a group of his friends when they asked who they were. But I don't know if she told them any more than that.

Sorry if I've not made everything clear or understood some things. I was diagnosed as Asperger's so sometimes my understanding isn't always clear.