To be reluctant to provide fingerprints for this reason?

[averystrangeletter]

A bit puzzled and confused about this.

I subscribe to the update service for the DBS. Received this letter.

As part of your subscription we continually check the police national computer (PNC) and have found the record of a person with similar identify details to your own. This does not mean that this PNC record belongs to you, however, we need to confirm that this is not the case. To do this, we need to compare your fingerprints with those held on the PNC record.

There is more, but that’s the important part.

I know everyone will say scam but I’m as sure as I can be that it isn’t. Completely baffled and not entirely comfortable with it.

Well, yes. And in all probability they will. But it is a bit strange and came out of the blue a bit!

Simples

The police work closely with the DBS so let them sort it out.

When you have a bit of time spare, pop into your local station and get them to explain the situation. They should also tell you what rights you have to have your dabs destroyed once they've established proper identity. (Absolute, but it doesn't hurt to remind them by email afterwards.)

And tell us how it goes.

Consult a solicitor for an opinion and the pros and cons of providing/not providing prints.

Do you have a fairly common name, @averystrangeletter ? More Helen White than Araminta McKenzie-Featherington?

What do you think they're going to do with them that's concerning you?

Pros - you keep your job.
Cons - you lose your job.

Seriously. You'd go to a solicitor??? 🙄

I guess con also that you might get framed for a crime?

I don’t know. I just know I’m not 100% comfortable with it.

That doesn’t mean I’m not going to do it, as I don’t really have a choice, but I do reserve the right to feel a bit perturbed by it.

Fair enough. They've probably got your face scanned on cctv so I don't know why they can't use that

Obviously take the letter to the police station..

I applied for an enhanced DBS this week and it did say in the guidance that sometimes they request fingerprints if your identity can't be verified. Did you have adequate identification? Passport, driving licence? Do you have a very common name?

@averystrangeletter I understand your hesitancy and think it's reasonable to contact them to ask for some alternatives e.g. providing birth certificate, passport, driving licence etc as find it hard to believe a theres someone else out there who has a criminal record with your exact names, address, dob, previous addresses and photo.... Seems like there would be other ways surely of identifying you vs them without fingerprints

I had this with scam hmrc letter.... sooooo convincing. Even the paper was the same and paper for letter. Seemed so legit, realised last minute it was a scam.

Best to ring and enquire... no use asking mumsnet as it seems quite a unique situation where you need to speak directlyvto someone, unless someones experienced it that im not aware of. I'm intrigued how it pans out though.

The thing is though, there is obviously someone out there with very similar details to you...that's all. It's nothing personal, DBS are just doing their job with due diligence. I'm sure if you were in a vulnerable state and being cared for you'd rather that a criminal who could harm you wasn't caring for you. This is all just a very normal aspect of safeguarding and not strange at all...no reason at all to feel uncomfortable or perturbed.

I completely see what you’re saying OP, and I would feel the same.

All this “you’re free to refuse” making it sound like a choice when it really isn’t, because the consequence of not complying would seriously compromise you.

You are pretty much being asked to prove your innocence here, and that’s not how it should work!

I would probably comply for the sake of getting my DBS, but I would NOT be happy about it and would be keen to know whether the prints will be stored or destroyed once my identity had been proven.

If fingerprints were not held on records then there would be no point in fingerprinting anybody. There would be nothing to compare the prints with, to look for a match.

I guess the other thing to be mindful of is identity theft. Who is this person who shares so many details with you?

How common is your name?

Check your credit score, and take a trip to your local Police station perhaps, just for reassurance?

Sorry didn't read all of thread! Interesting, learn something new every day

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/police-role-in-the-dbs-checking-process

Fingerprints may be requested

The OP says she hasn't travelled outside the UK since 2002 so she may well not have a valid passport.

Reframe things: once the police can compare your finger prints with those they have on file for the criminal who has the same name, etc this will stop the possibility of this person passing themselves off as you/being confused with you and potentially causing issues for you.

I do, but I generally use my driving licence for ID purposes. Full name, address, DOB, photo, and they still don’t know who I am does seem a bit weird.

Anyway, it came as a bit of a shock tbh when I opened the letter. I was not expecting to start my weekend with a fingerprint check!

Feel sorry for the poor sod passing themselves off as me.

They must have a shit life if I look like a good option!

Look up the DBS enquiry line via their website, and call them to confirm the authenticity of the letter, and ask how the process would work.

I don't think it would bother me, but I was fingerprinted several times as a small child, as part of travel/immigration procedures. So it seems pretty normal. Index cards with my tiny wee fingerprints might still exist in forgotten basements of the world.

Back in those days it was ink pads, rollers, and smudgy fingers afterwards. I imagine it's all high-tech scanning these days.

Am I being thick? Unless they are taken by someone official ie a police officer, you could just put anyone's finger prints in?

How does the letter say you need to provide your prints? It is usual to ask for them if there are 2 people that are similar but you would be asked to go to a police station with ID and have them taken there. You can also ask for them to be destroyed once they have verified who you are (or who you are not)