On alert forever more?

GrouseyGrouse

I will preface this with the fact that I am *very* stressed at work and therefore very much not on my A game. Feeling very foolish right now but they got me…

OH had a call from ‘Carphone Warehouse’ and got suckered into the fake upgrade/incorrect delivery scam. Google it, the Phones Ltd “Mobile Scam - Cold Calling Contract Fraud - Carphone Warehouse/FoneCity/Fonehouse/Mobile Hub LTD” page is verbatim what happened to us. I returned the phone and then got sucked into the same scheme. The pressure they put you under to sort ASAP is enormous and if you’re already stressed it’s too easy to forget all your usual due diligence. No excuse, but mitigation.

Having called Currys (as CW is actually now known) and realised it’s a scam we have spent all afternoon cancelling debit cards, reporting fraudulent transactions, reporting fraudulent Direct Debits and speaking to Vodafone and Tesco Mobile to start the fraud process (not got hold of Action Fraud yet, that’s tomorrow’s job). Therefore should hopefully all be unwound in a few days.

However…

Cards can be replaced but bank accounts cannot quite so easily (this is our main account at the centre of all financial dealings for the whole family). Given my understanding that once someone has your bank account details they can set up a Direct Debit easily and at any point, we are obviously now potentially in a position of having to check the account daily to ensure we haven’t gained any further fraudulent DD’s. Is there anything we can to do not have to be on high alert forevermore or is the account now FOREVER tainted?

PRAISETHESUN

You'll need to keep an eye on things for a while as you're now likely on a "suckers" list and will probably be targeted again in future. Alert your bank of what has happened and they should be able to put some extra measures on your account to make sure someone else can't call up and impersonate you. You can't control someone setting up fraudulent DDs but you'll be protected by the DD guarantee if anything dodgy does happen and get your money back.

I'd probably also look at getting a protective CIFAS registration - this will force companies to undertake extra checks when applying for credit in future. It'll delay legitimate applications but should stop someone else impersonating you in future: https://www.cifas.org.uk/pr

HobgoblinBT

The bank I used to work for had a direct debit fraud alert so that new direct debit instructions were not made live until or unless the customer confirmed them.  This was used in some cases that had been subject to fraud.  Ask your bank if such a system is available and can it be put in place for your account.  This may be something that needs to be referred to a manager as I suspect not all staff will be aware of it.  

 

Hope this helps.

born_again

HobgoblinBT said:

The bank I used to work for had a direct debit fraud alert so that new direct debit instructions were not made live until or unless the customer confirmed them.  This was used in some cases that had been subject to fraud.  Ask your bank if such a system is available and can it be put in place for your account.  This may be something that needs to be referred to a manager as I suspect not all staff will be aware of it.  

 

Hope this helps.

If the OP is dealing with the fraud team. They will be aware of it, as it will be part of their procedure.👍

GrouseyGrouse

Thanks.
Will be as vigilant as possible and hope anything untoward gets caught.
Lesson learned!

Daliah

@GrouseyGrouse you shouldn't be worried about DDs being set up on your account. It's easy to check whether there are any new ones, and if there's one that you don't recognise, just invoke the Direct Debit Guarantee.

If you want to avoid fraudulent DDs on your existing account altogether, switch to another account. There are several switch offers currently available, e.g. from Natwest and from Santander.

penners324

You need to advise your bank not to pass you card details to the Auto updater services the visa and Mastercard run.

If fraudsters have your old card details and use uber eats, deliveroo etc the your new card details will automatically be updated on those sites unless your bank stops this.

GrouseyGrouse

Yikes! I didn’t know this was a thing! How do I work out if my bank is ‘helpful’ like that? I feel like that’s not something they’d know in branch.

nyermen

penners324 said:

If fraudsters have your old card details and use uber eats, deliveroo etc the your new card details will automatically be updated on those sites unless your bank stops this.

This sounds like CPA (continuous payment authority) as those update card details.  But interesting thought - does such an update happen even after a card has been blocked (ie. is it still a "link" to new details), that I dont know.

OP - can the bank change your account number out of interest?  (They should be able to transfer all DD's etc, you'd have new debit cards issued).  Then further DD mandate attempts would fail.

Always been a bit surprised how easy it still is to set them up, ever since the Jeremy Clarkson stunt.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7174760.stm

Daliah

nyermen said:

Always been a bit surprised how easy it still is to set them up, ever since the Jeremy Clarkson stunt.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7174760.stm

Clarkson could have invoked the DD guarantee. Instead he chose to buy some more publicity by donating the money to a worthwhile Charity and releasing the self-deprecating story to the media. It worked. People are still talking about 14 years, and tens of millions of completely unproblematic DDs, later.

robatwork

nyermen said:

penners324 said:

If fraudsters have your old card details and use uber eats, deliveroo etc the your new card details will automatically be updated on those sites unless your bank stops this.

This sounds like CPA (continuous payment authority) as those update card details.  But interesting thought - does such an update happen even after a card has been blocked (ie. is it still a "link" to new details), that I dont know.

I still think that CPA is the dark underbelly of the banking industry. No easy way to list them and relying on your bank's efficiency (or otherwise) to tell you, and only after you've asked them.

UK finance would be a better place if CPA was scrapped completely. Or at the very least made accessible to customer online/via app.