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Original poster

Text and follow up call from bank

31 replies

Smartsub · 22/05/2022 17:29

I got a text saying they were going to contact me about a potential fraud, from the same number bank has contacted me on before.

Then I got a call from a private number. Probably I shouldn't have answered it.

The person was a bit odd, quite stilted speech, but sometimes they are. He asked me about a DD someone was trying to set up for car finance. Definitely not me. Apparently it flagged because it was in a different area of the country to where I am.

Then he asked me to check my app for any alien transactions. All fine.

Then he asked me to tell him what my balance was because "calls are recorded and this would give them a check if there are any incorrect transactions later". I said "you know what my balance is and I'm not comfortable doing that"...and the line went dead.

I've tried calling the bank but "unusually high call volumes..."

Have I given him anything he can use?. Surely he can't get into the app because I did while he was on the phone? How would knowing my balance have helped him?

OP posts:
nokitchen · 22/05/2022 17:38

Ring the bank fraud no. Better safe than sorry

Roselilly36 · 22/05/2022 18:13

Definitely sounds like a scam.

Original poster
Smartsub · 22/05/2022 18:16

Roselilly36 · 22/05/2022 18:13

Definitely sounds like a scam.

Yes, it does, but did I foil it?!

OP posts:

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Possiblynotever · 22/05/2022 18:19

I do not think so but

  1. Send them an email, a message a text or whatever you can do
  2. Check your balance and take note of your last transaction
  3. Do not use the app if it was on the same phone you answered from ( it may be too much but I am paranoid as I see so many frauds)
yesthatisdrizzle · 22/05/2022 18:20

You didn't give them any information, did you? So they are no better off than they were before the call.

Curioushorse · 22/05/2022 18:21

Yes that was a scam. Well done!

Iamnotamermaid · 22/05/2022 18:35

Total scam. Golden rule is, if they phone you tell them nothing. Keep an eye on any activity, might be worth giving the bank a heads up.

Assume you are all setup for text alerts should someone try & setup a dd etc?

Original poster
Smartsub · 22/05/2022 18:39

Iamnotamermaid · 22/05/2022 18:35

Total scam. Golden rule is, if they phone you tell them nothing. Keep an eye on any activity, might be worth giving the bank a heads up.

Assume you are all setup for text alerts should someone try & setup a dd etc?

But it isn't unusual for them to call you regarding suspicious transactions?

I don't think I told him anything. I did agree that I don't live where the "transaction" took place, but I didn't tell him where I do live.

OP posts:
Original poster
Smartsub · 22/05/2022 18:40

So what is the scam? What would having the balance achieve for them?

OP posts:
Original poster
Smartsub · 22/05/2022 18:40

And how did they get their text to appear in the same chain as ones I know are genuine?

OP posts:
MayorDusty · 22/05/2022 18:42

Did they tell you to download an app at all?
Always hang up and call the number on your card to check. Not any numbers they give you and from a mobile if possible.

Original poster
Smartsub · 22/05/2022 18:43

MayorDusty · 22/05/2022 18:42

Did they tell you to download an app at all?
Always hang up and call the number on your card to check. Not any numbers they give you and from a mobile if possible.

No just asked me to look at the app I already had.

OP posts:
MayorDusty · 22/05/2022 18:43

They ask for a balance to decide if you are worth scamming.

MayorDusty · 22/05/2022 18:44

Sometimes they ask you to install an app which allows them to see your screen and get your login and passcodes.

MayorDusty · 22/05/2022 18:46

They can spoof the caller id too so your phone puts it in the existing chain.

mossberry · 22/05/2022 18:57

I work in Banking. This sounds like social engineering whereby fraudsters will ask a series of seemingly innocuous questions but the information given, when put together, gives them enough to pass security checks. Information about direct debits, recent debit card transactions, overdraft limits, balances etc. Did you give any information to the caller?

HollowTalk · 22/05/2022 19:00

This exact thing happened to my daughter-in-law last week. She is with HSBC and she have my son share a Monzo account. Like you, the text from the Scammer account appeared in her HSBC text chain. God knows how they did that. They ended up saying that they were going to the bank and the call abruptly ended. You need to phone the fraud line immediately.

BotCrossHuns · 22/05/2022 19:04

they can definitely spoof numbers, because I've recently had several scam messages from the NHS that appear the chain of real messages from the NHS, saying I've been exposed to omicron and to go to this website to order a test. They looked very real, and tended to appear the day after I've been at a hospital, so quite plausible! So number spoofing is sophisticated and can make it look quite convincing.

MayorDusty · 22/05/2022 19:05

If you have iPlayer watch Scam Intercepters it shows the whole process and what and why the scammers are doing.
Eye opening stuff.

ChewtonBunny · 22/05/2022 19:14

I had this a while back

It was a scam

Contact your bank directly asap to put a stop on your account

LIZS · 22/05/2022 19:14

Call them back on the number on your debit card, but check line is cleared first.

hellcatspanglelalala · 22/05/2022 19:17

Banks do phone you though, if there is suspicious activity on your account. Both my husband and DS were alerted by phone. This is why it's so difficult to tell the difference - the general advice is to phone the bank back, but from a different phone (or you can message them through the app)

RunningKatie · 22/05/2022 19:24

I had this. It was a scam but the call came so fast after the text it gives you no time to think.
They asked me the balance of my account as well, and when I said i didn't know they asked if I had over 15k in the bank. I just laughed.
As I was on the phone to my bank, the scammers were continually ringing me. They work on panicking you with info that could be plausible.

Original poster
Smartsub · 22/05/2022 19:33

RunningKatie · 22/05/2022 19:24

I had this. It was a scam but the call came so fast after the text it gives you no time to think.
They asked me the balance of my account as well, and when I said i didn't know they asked if I had over 15k in the bank. I just laughed.
As I was on the phone to my bank, the scammers were continually ringing me. They work on panicking you with info that could be plausible.

What did your bank do when you called?

OP posts:
AlternativePerspective · 22/05/2022 19:35

Banks do ring if there has been suspicious activity on your account, but if they do then you tell them that you will call them back. If the call is genuine they will likely understand, then you hang up and call the bank on a different phone to the one you’ve just answered.

If you didn’t tell them anything then you don’t need to put a stop on your account, but I would call the bank to make sure that it wasn’t them who were calling.