Indemnity fraud scam

flo22

I had seen this fraud mentioned previously  https://beyondhousing.co.uk/direct-debit-indemnity-fraud/  

born_again

The BIG warning here is >>The scammer first requests the victim’s online banking details. <<

Why would anyone do that? How many times do banks have to say "NEVER pass your banking security details" 

Yet people hear £££ and end up in this situation. Bank could easily send a closure letter for breech of T/C. Utilities could easily take action against the person as well, no matter if it is a scam.

cymruchris

I would imagine as part of the investigation if the account holder was complicit in the fraud, a relevant CIFAS marker may be applied and banking facilities across the board (With all banks they have accounts with) withdrawn. They may have issued a new card and account for the short-term, but be prepared for them to come to the conclusion that due to their actions, accounts will be closed and relevant markers placed so that new accounts can't be opened for quite some time.

Band7

It will be hard/impossible for OP's partner to prove that she was not part of the fraud.

paulfcb

This has been eating away at my partner since this happened. She knows she was foolish but would just like everything back to normal with the water company. She still has these outstanding DD payments in her bank account to the tune of over £500. I've told her to sit on her hands for the time being.

She'd like to pay the water company the DD payments back but what if the bank do this in time? The whole thing is a mess.

Personally, I've always been astute with money so this situation has been a complete nightmare for me.

cymruchris

phillw said:

I would contact the water company to find out whether it will be reported as missed payments on her credit file and if so, how much she should pay to avoid it.

Based on the fact the OP has mentioned it was a complicit fraud - I think there may be bigger things to worry about than a few missed payments on the credit file. CIFAS markers last for 6 years, and during that time the OP's partner won't be able to have access to any regular banking facilities if as I believe their investigation concludes that the OP's partner was at fault.

To the OP - have you looked up what it means to get a CIFAS marker? If your partner has multiple accounts, credit cards etc. and the bank does decide your partner was responsible, and they do place a CIFAS marker, then all accounts with all banks will likely be closed over the coming months.

I'm not sure it'll help, but your partner might want to be profusely sorry to the bank concerned highlighting any mitigating circumstances if there are any, in the hope that they don't place such a marker.

flo22

As cymruchris has said it is likely that she will end up with a CIFAS  marker so it is unlikely that things will go back to normal. 

Regarding the water company has she been in contact with them to state that the Indemnity claims were raised in error? They can reject the Indemnity claim which means the bank will re-debit the values from her account. 

paulfcb

flo22 said:

As cymruchris has said it is likely that she will end up with a CIFAS  marker so it is unlikely that things will go back to normal. 

Regarding the water company has she been in contact with them to state that the Indemnity claims were raised in error? They can reject the Indemnity claim which means the bank will re-debit the values from her account. 

The water company have told her that payments will be reduced if she can pay the money back from the bank.

My partner has this one bank account. No credit cards.

At the end of the day, she's been the victim of a scam.

I'm now concerned about all of this talk about CIFAS markers. Never heard of them.

cymruchris

paulfcb said:

flo22 said:

As cymruchris has said it is likely that she will end up with a CIFAS  marker so it is unlikely that things will go back to normal. 

Regarding the water company has she been in contact with them to state that the Indemnity claims were raised in error? They can reject the Indemnity claim which means the bank will re-debit the values from her account. 

The water company have told her that payments will be reduced if she can pay the money back from the bank.

My partner has this one bank account. No credit cards.

At the end of the day, she's been the victim of a scam.

I'm now concerned about all of this talk about CIFAS markers. Never heard of them.

You'll have to wait for the outcome of the bank's investigation to know what steps they take. Your partner may be very lucky and they conclude that they were 'scammed' - or it's possible they conclude that they were complicit in the scam. If the former they'll have gotten away very lightly, if the latter and a CIFAS marker is placed it'll lead to 6 years of potentially not being able to open a bank account or any type of credit facility (including things like paying off your car/house insurance in monthly installments).

None of us can say which way the bank will go, as we don't have every detail of the case, and just your general overview. Banks do treat misuse of facility quite seriously though, so be prepared to hear that the account will be closed, and if that's their decision, it's likely further accounts with other banks won't be able to be opened. (Sometimes with a CIFAS marker you can open an account, but it gets closed again a week or two later once they've run their fraud checks).

Hopefully you'll keep us updated as to progress whichever way it goes.

paulfcb

My partner spoke to the fraud team at the bank, who have been very good, after her account was suspended.

Her account has been reopened and she has been sent a new card and number and today received a text from the bank, with the new DD instruction to the water company.

Over £500 in DD payments taken from the water company still remain in her bank account.

How long should she sit on her hands before paying this lump sum back?