Strange Starling Bank scam...that I fell for

mrcactus

Received a call from a private number with a guy with a London accent claiming to be from Starling bank fraud department, starling who I do bank with. He said two payments of £100 odd tried to come out but they blocked it. THey asked to confirm how much I had in the account and I stupidly told them. 

I was at work as this was happening on the phone. I felt rushed. He asked if I has any money in the spaces (savings pots) within the app, I said yes and asked how much was in there. He said do you have any other bank accounts I said yes Monzo. They asked how much was in there , I said I'm 1k overdrawn.  He said somones cloned your details and is using the actual chip and pin, he said my card was blocked and a new one  and even confirmed my full name and post code. After I said I have the card in my pocket, Then he hung up.

I called starling on the 159 number and they confirmed right away it was a scam. Very good service I might add! Blocked online payments, sending new card etc.

I checked starling and no money has been taken. No money or attempts in monzo either. What was that all about? Didn;;t confirm any card details, account details, pin numbers etc. Its just bizzare but it's also bothering me a bit that I'm about to become a victim of fraud, identity theft etc. What should I do Ideally at this point? 

jaybeetoo

If the bank call me, I tell them I will call them back as I have no way of knowing they are the bank.  It’s happened a couple of times and the bank are quite happy if I do this.  I call the number on the back of my bank card, ideally from a different line.

M25

Block ALL numbers on your mobile unless it's people in your white list.

If it's very important the bank will freeze your account or the police will chap your door.

Even if my 'bank' called me -it's possible to use fake numbers- I would  ASK them a couple of security questions. If they're your bank they should have access to a lot of your information.

Don't speak to strangers. Don't be stupid.

Ballard

I wouldn’t personally block all unknown numbers on my phone as there may be a time when the bank does genuinely need to contact me about something, or the plumber I’m expecting is held up and wants to let me know, for example. I’d suggest that a more practical solution is to answer the call and take the appropriate action, such as calling them back on a known number, after ensuring that the line has been cleared. 

confederated

I have a Google Pixel so when I receive a call from an unknown number I press the ‘screen call’ button and Google answers the call and asks who the caller is and what do they want. The caller’s response comes up on screen and I can intercept if it’s a call I want. If it’s a scammer they ALWAYS disconnect. For the past year I have never had to speak to a scammer or cold-caller.

Section62

M25 said:

Block ALL numbers on your mobile unless it's people in your white list.

Blocking all numbers can be risky - the call might be one of the people on your white list using a different number, or it could be A&E trying to get hold of next-of-kin.

M25 said:

Even if my 'bank' called me -it's possible to use fake numbers- I would  ASK them a couple of security questions. If they're your bank they should have access to a lot of your information.

There's little point doing that.  Until they have verified they are speaking to the account holder (by you correctly answering the security questions) then they can't divulge information about the account or the account holder.  You end up in a Mexican standoff.

You also can't rule out you are speaking to a scammer who has access to the information needed to be able to answer your security questions correctly.  Once you've assured yourself the scammer is genuine because they knew your monther's maiden name/account balance/last transaction you will trust them more for the rest of the call.

Calling the 'bank' back on a number you know to be genuine (having confirmed the line is clear) is the only way forward.  That, or finding a branch you can visit in person.

ColdIron

M25 said:

Block ALL numbers on your mobile unless it's people in your white list.

I missed a GP telephone appointment, a hospital call to book an appointment and a plasterer trying to rebook a visit before I decided it's a damned silly thing to do

trickydicky14

confederated said:

I have a Google Pixel so when I receive a call from an unknown number I press the ‘screen call’ button and Google answers the call and asks who the caller is and what do they want. The caller’s response comes up on screen and I can intercept if it’s a call I want. If it’s a scammer they ALWAYS disconnect. For the past year I have never had to speak to a scammer or cold-caller.

I have a Pixel phone, could you explain what you mean by 'screen call' button please.

The_Green_Hornet

trickydicky14 said:

confederated said:

I have a Google Pixel so when I receive a call from an unknown number I press the ‘screen call’ button and Google answers the call and asks who the caller is and what do they want. The caller’s response comes up on screen and I can intercept if it’s a call I want. If it’s a scammer they ALWAYS disconnect. For the past year I have never had to speak to a scammer or cold-caller.

I have a Pixel phone, could you explain what you mean by 'screen call' button please.

Screen your calls before you answer them - Phone app Help

sheramber

ColdIron said:

M25 said:

Block ALL numbers on your mobile unless it's people in your white list.

I missed a GP telephone appointment, a hospital call to book an appointment and a plasterer trying to rebook a visit before I decided it's a damned silly thing to do

My GP number is in my list of callers. So is my NHS contacts and any workman I am dealing with, so their number comes up with their name. 

Any unknown number goes to voice mail where they will leave a message if it is a genuine call. 

flaneurs_lobster

sheramber said:

ColdIron said:

M25 said:

Block ALL numbers on your mobile unless it's people in your white list.

I missed a GP telephone appointment, a hospital call to book an appointment and a plasterer trying to rebook a visit before I decided it's a damned silly thing to do

My GP number is in my list of callers. So is my NHS contacts and any workman I am dealing with, so their number comes up with their name. 

Any unknown number goes to voice mail where they will leave a message if it is a genuine call. 

Think that's fair enough. What would be problematic (IMO) is a full block on unknown numbers with no option to leave a voicemail.