Something really mad has happened to my bank account and I don't get it. Or maybe I'm losing my marbles and that seriously frightens me.

[MadamClench]

In the last month someone, who is not me, has opened an ISA in my name and transferred my own money from my savings account into the ISA (within the same Bank). So I have an ISA. Except I had already set up an ISA with a completely different provider.
Then - all of my direct debits were cancelled - cue lots of emails informing of this (including insurances, TV Licensing, utilities etc. Not cancelled by me.

I feel like I'm going mad. Bank treated it as 'impersonator fraud' and conducted an investigation. No other attempts have been made to take money from my bank accounts or savings!
I'm still having trouble reinstating the direct debits and explaining for the umpteenth time to people that I didn't cancel anything and nor did I set up an ISA with my bank because if I had I'd have been breaching the HMRC rules about maximum yearly savings. I've had umpteen calls with the bank and they stress that my accounts are absolutely safe now and they've cancelled the ISA, moved the money back into my usual savings account.

I keep thinking I've had some kind of black out or something. I sometimes lose focus and can't remember where I've put something or whatever. But for this thing I'd have had to have gone online, browsed the banks ISA rates and deals, chosen the ISA, applied and then instigated the transfer of funds. I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO MEMORY OF THAT although I absolutely DID research ISA's on MSE AND applied for the one I chose via there with a different unrelated provider and that one went through fine.

Have anyone heard of something similar as a type of fraud, and if so, what on earth is in it for the fraudster???? Or should I go and see my GP.

good luck OP

Hi, I have nothing to add on this thread but just wanted to say that HMRC def won’t care about not paying tax on £80 of interest.

What do you take from that, except I couldn't get to speak to an advisor because the question I had was not an option in their extensive list of queries. I'd have gone through to the wrong department no matter what option I'd have chosen.
THAT IS WHAT I MEANT.

I've had a couple of instances of identity fraud, but nothing like this. Did you involve the police?

As to HMRC - just say anything on the phone and once you are through to a human they can redirect you. DH has spent hours on the phone to them recently sorting out a tax cock up (theirs) and they havent been hard to get through to.

I think if your bank is dealing with it, I would put trust in your bank to sort this.

£10,300 interest OP made last tax year according to other thread

Have you had any previous mental health episodes that lead you to worry that you might have has a black out?

I have a friend that's has been terrified that she was subject to hacking but it wasn't the case, it was her mental illness making her forget that she'd done things, some of which were a bit erratic or out of character. She'd also done things like changed passwords ect because she'd been feeling paranoid then forgotten she'd done it, leading her to feel more paranoid.

Also try not to stress, If you had done it yourself in error, or forgotten about it, you certainly wouldn't be the first person they've come across that's done so.

Yes I did make that last year becasue that is the ONLY year I've ever had a sudden large amount of money in my bank account. My inheritance and for a short time, money from the sale of my house whilst I was waiting to move into my new house. FGS, leave the thread if you think I'm dishonest.

Yea which is to be reported on the tax return being filed now. But she’s in a twist about earning £80 of interest sometime after 2015, which HMRC won’t be bothered about.

Have you alerted your accountant to this? I think it would be worth booking an extra hour with them to ask them to help you unravel your situation. It sounds very worrying.

I don't know what kind of blackout would last long enough for you to sit down and fill out application for an ISA, transfer the money, then cancel every Direct Debit on your account – that is NOT a five-minute task. Anyone having that level blackout needs to see a neuro specialist pronto.

Also, normally when you cancel a DD via online banking you get a notification from your bank to say it's been done just in case of fraud, which means you must've been sent a string of text messages or emails all at the same time. If you haven't got any notifications that in itself is unusual, but your bank should still be able to pinpoint to the minute when the DD were cancelled – at the very least you and they can work out where you were at the time they were.

But IF this thread is some weird elaborate way of creating a paper trail to appease HMRC as PP have suggested, it's really not advisable. It could be considered fraudulent behaviour and you'd just creating more trouble for yourself.

I retired because I was ill from the stress of my Dad's long illness and death, from the sheer overload of the job and because one of my children had tried to kill himself. I couldn't go on. So I retired.
I had never had that amount of money in my life. I didnt know what to do, it was just numbers on a screen to me.
I had no other family to advise or help.

BUT I AM NOT A CRIMINAL.
So I will ask for the thread to be deleted and thank those who replied helpfully.

Yes, @BusyMintCrab that's it. I don't want to miss a single thing, I want to do the RIGHT thing.

This is like a witchhunt. Leave the woman alone.

OP if you are worried about what you have been doing with the Isis etc then could you check the history on your laptop or phone? I would be definitely changing passwords and login details for bank accounts if I were you.

It sounds like you've had a terrible time losing your dad and then the worry of your child as well. Take care of yourself 💐

It is NOT a way of trying to create anything!!!
I wanted to see if anyone had any experience of this kind of hack but now I can see that folk think I'm some kind of internet fraud who comes to Mumsnet of all places to create a 'back story' of mental ill health.
Jesus.

I'm not saying that's what you're doing, just that it wouldn't be advisable!

I hope you can get to the bottom of it. Did you get notifications from your bank about the cancelled DD? You really should've done. If you can find out when they were cancelled, you can pinpoint where you were at the time.

Yes I did, they all came in over 24 hours, some on the first day and some on the second. Some of them still haven't been properly reinstated. I've been on the phone or in the branch of the bank almost every day since then.

Op is there anyone who has access to your mail or details? Has any expected post gone missing or any other stage events recently?

I ask because a friend of mine started having similar things start to happen, money going missing money being moved. She spent over a year speaking to bank personnel who were looking into it and apparently finding nothing. Getting letters from them resolving her case. It turned out her psychopath of a husband was using this both as a way to gaslight her and also to get thousands out in her name, he had written the letters himself. Had called her pretending to be the bank. She thought she was losing it.

They split obviously. Now it doesn't look as serious in your case but I would be very careful as these things do happen.

That's good you've got the timings. Now, check on your internet browser history or app log-in to see if you had logged in those times. If you did, definitely book an appt to see your GP because that is a serious level of blackout.

That's helpful @Bookworm1111 . Though from what all the bank advisors have said the investigating team are carrying out all the background stuff so perhaps that's something they'll do and when they've finished I hope they will tell me what happened. It was the bank who first said the term 'impersonator' account.

Could you ask for them to send you all the data they have about you? Phone call recording and contact dates etc. Might help narrow down if it was in fact you or someone else. Obviously the solution for those things is very different.

Why let them investigate if you can prove it was you? Otherwise it'll just drag on. Best to confirm it, stop them poking around your account and get everything reinstated as quickly as poss.

Do you have a common surname, like Smith or Williams and a popular first girls name and you've been confused with someone else,