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.

How do I access my browser history?

Could the buyers of your old house have access to any mail for you?
this must be such a confusing time for you, I hope you get it all sorted out quickly.

Oh it's ok i just found how to do it.

It's in the top menu bar of your internet browser. I use Chrome but it should be the same with any of them.

OP, I understand it's confusing but you are overly anxious. Identity fraud is real, it happens. You need to up your online security, reinstate your DDs which you are doing already and wait for the outcome of the bank's investigation. Watch your other accounts, close any old ones. If there's more suspicious activity report it to the relevant bank ASAP. Have you lost any money?

I highly doubt you had a blackout or multiple and did this. It was clearly done by someone knowingly and intentionally, these aren't straightforward things to set up or cancel.

Btw, this thread is bloody wild, it'll get removed soon.

Yes I've just checked it.
It was me. On April 8th. I applied for it. I will let the bank know now so they can stop the investigation if they wish. But I definitely didn't cancel any direct debits.
And now before all the people pile on me I will ask for the thread to go because there is nothing I could say to the amateur sleuths and witch hunters.

@PurplePansy05 yes, you're right I am overly anxious. Always have been. But now I just feel shit. Really, really shit.

Good you checked the timings, but don't stop the investigation if you didn't cancel the DDs. As @PurplePansy05 says, that's really serious if someone did it deliberately.

I would imagine the fraud would be to open these accounts and then somehow gain access to them. Perhaps the fraudster thought they could get hold of your passwords somehow? I'm not really sure. Some frauds do seem very confusing- for example I don't understand the benefit of some of the Facebook marketplace ones that seem to be rife.

I've been here years but I've never asked a thread to be taken down. How do I do it?

You applied for an ISA on the 8th April but you have no recollection of this? I think you need to speak to your GP about the possibility of dementia OP. Sorry.

Please don't say the word.

@MNHQ please can you delete the thread.

Are you absolutely sure no one else has used your laptop?

Positive

Is it worth trying to get a doctor’s appointment in case you are actually having blackouts or memory problems?

Just to say, my mum was scammed a couple of years ago. Scammers phoned pretending to be her internet service provider, and she gave them details about her internet and computer login, and bank info, and hackers managed somehow to remotely access her desktop and stole money from her account that way. Could something similar have happened?

Take a deep breath.

Memory blanks can occur during a very stressful time. A child's attempted suicide is one of the most stressful things I can imagine, and you've had a bereavement on top.

It doesn't mean you have dementia. But you should probably see a gp about the impact it's had on you

@PurplePansy05 I've asked for it to be taken down.
Everything I've posted here is absolutely the truth.
Thank you to those who have made helpful suggestions.

But you could completely forgot that you did it.

OP consider getting checked for early onset dementia

Racking my brains here - which is ironic, as the thing I wanted to tell you is about my 'absences'!

I do unwise shopping. I have fatigue problems, and am not aware (except for right now 😬) when my brain's gone off into random mode. As things stand, I'm too broke to buy anything expensive but I am currently wearing four second-hand rings I didn't need or plan for.

I could definitely have opened a savings account in that state. I'd see it coming out of my bank account, though, and am surprised you never noticed your initial payment to the ISA.

The direct debits are peculiar, as it would have taken quite a bit of time and thought to cancel them all. I mean, it took more effort than that to shop for rings on Ebay ... I was hunting little bits of accessible loveliness, which I find easier to understand than repetitively clicking through your DDs to cancel them one by one! Have you any idea what was going through your mind the first week of April? Like, did you feel you were going to die or something, and were trying to tidy things up?

It's hard to think of reasons why a third party may have cancelled them. I wondered if the bills went to your old house and the new owners, not reading them properly, thought they were being wrongly charged and so cancelled them with the suppliers. It's a long stretch, though!

To be on the safe side, don't respond to any mail or phone calls from the recipients of the DDS. Always, ALWAYS get the company's details from their official website and contact them yourself.

Se your doctor. Otherwise, you may find you've randomly bought a beach hut in the Philippines or a pair of diamond stilettoes at a non-retractable auction ...

@MadamClench precisely why you shouldnt give so much information on here

@Garlicked It was late evening and I did tons of dipping in and out of different options so I was tired. Plus things concerning making the right financial decisions is makes me feel very anxious before I start. So my internet search shows (and I remember this) that I looked at loads of different options that evening on MSE and felt thoroughly perplexed about which was right for me. So I think I must've thought fuck it, I'll go with my own Bank because it's easy. Information overload is something I struggle with and always have. I kind of shut down.

And I DID notice the money transfer which is why I phoned the bank, but I didn't notice it for a few days until I opened the app. The letter only arrived today, well past the day when the bank cancelled the ISA and transferred the money back.

I won't respond to any more posts now though. It's enough.

In opening and transferring money to the ISA, could that have meant closing the account that your DDs were attached to? If you closed the account I presume all the DDs would effectively be cancelled without you having to cancel them yourself.

Though to be fair it's not hard to cancel DDs if you do it via Internet banking. It's not like you have to log into each place that you're paying. You can just cancel them all from the bank account they come out of. Pretty much in one go.

So maybe you thought- oh now I've transfered out the money into an ISA I won't have enough to pay the DDs, I'll cancel them and set them up from another account instead. Then maybe just did the first part and forgot all about it?

And that is why I say 'bollocks' to online banking. Why? What for? Do we have a gazillion transactions that we can't walk to the branch and do it? I don't have to worry about being hacked ever - because I don't use internet banking. If my bank gets hacked, that will be their problem. (Yeah, I know my family can rob me, but that is a different story).