July 2015 - the thread in which bumps really start to appear...

[fattycow]

New thread, ladies!

Here is the stats list:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1p3idkH2TaQYAy22I_N73k1_-G6Ezq67lAdhQvDjQkU0/edit?pli=1#gid=0

Oh my god Lucky that is awful. Do they have any idea how they got your details? If the bank has picked it up then it must be a clear case of fraud this might be relevant. It is the bank that has to prove that you were negligent with your details. So hopefully they will be able to reimburse you quickly. Sorry you are having to go through this. My paypal was hacked and I had £600 taken and that was bad enough, I can't imagine how you must both be feeling

Lucky is there anyone you can ask to borrow the money for your house move from? If you are selling I am assuming most of your deposit will come from the sale of your house, so that will stay with the solicitor until transfer for the new house (so should be unaffected), so it will just be the short fall in costs (if there are any) that you would need to borrow. Might be worth investigating so that at least you know you have that safety net available if the bank doesn't get it sorted asap.

Butler how did they think they would get away with booking a holiday? Surely it needed to be booked in their own name for travel documentation purposes, so they must have been easily traceable?

Thanks everyone. Feeling a little calmer now and trying to sort it out.

But just opened our post to find the little b*stard has opened a new bank account with large overdraft facility - a bank that we have nothing to do with (and never have!). DH trying to sort it out now.

Our bank is at fault. They allowed the fraudster to change our security details on joint account and issue additional cards. We only use JA for direct debit so don't use the cards we have.

Absolute nightmare! We having £2.5k fees and moving costs to pay so was coming from our savings ....all gone :(

It's getting worse by the minute. Some little s**T has all my husbands personal details and is taking full advantage. Don't know what to do!! We are sooo careful with all our paperwork. We shred EVERYTHING! The only thing I can think of is a security breach by our local council which has been referred to the ombudsmen (all our personal details).

Should we contact Citizens Advice Bureau? Seems be proper ID theft now.

Lucky can you go on Experian or something similar and check what credit checks have been done on your DH? Not sure how quick things show up on there but it might give you an idea of anything else they may have done.

Do you think there is family you could ask to borrow the moving costs from as at least then you wouldn't have to worry about that part whilst you are still trying to get everything sorted.

It does seem your bank are at fault, as I wouldn't have thought you would be allowed to change the address on an account and order new cards. The cards are always sent to the registered address so that should have raised warning flags!

Lucky this happened to us recently. 3k was taken out it total, mainly with Easyjet. It was fairly quick to sort out to be honest, they also refunded the overdraft charges that happened as a result and think we got a bit of compensation too. I hope they sort yours out quickly aswell

Fraudsters have set up a new bank account under our name and withdrawn £300 everyday for last week. not even our bank. Can't believe the bank has opened account without ID - so strange. It's our local town too.

Should we phone the police?

Experian is a good idea, I checked it 2 weeks ago and it was fine (for mortgage). Will probably take a while to show.

Lucky they would have needed ID, but if the leak has come from your council and they have all your Dh's details they could have just created false ID.

Is it all registered to your home address? You usually need proof of address as well, so don't want to creep you out but I wonder if some of your mail has been intercepted. Especially as the accounts seem to have been set up in your area.

I would maybe phone the non-emergency police number and see what they advice. They may be able to give you advice on how to stop any more accounts being opened.

Gotto if it is fraud the bank have to reinstate your account back to where it would have been had the money not been taken (i.e. refund all charges etc). They are not obliged to offer compensation so nice that they did that and got it sorted really quickly.

Lucky I really hope you manage to get it all sorted quickly.

Yes it was good of them Nature. Might have been the fact that me and DH both worked for the bank (ironically DH worked in international fraud!).

It is awful that they let them open the account without ID lucky. Needs serious investigation on the banks part.

Hi Naturegirl - I'm going to ring the solicitor, see if there is anything she recommends re: money transfers and payment timings. Will also ask my parents if there is any way to lend us money if we get desperate x

naturegirl YES! we have had some post go missing recently. I have asked for it to be resent - was official stuff re: house move. hmmm...this is really creeping me out. Our post box is accessible for parts of the day due to postman needing to gain entry (live in apartment).

We should probably phone police. Just phoned council and they are taking it seriously,

Lucky good idea to speak to the solicitor as they will be able to give you a better indication on time frame for when they need the money. Also if the cost is for their fees, they maybe able to provide some flexibility in when these are paid given the circumstances.

I also think you need to confirm with the new bank if the account was set up with or without ID, and get Police advice on what to do. If they have false ID and proof of address there isn't much stopping them from setting more accounts up. Sorry if that sounds like scaremongering but it sounds like they are trying to get access to any money they can so you need to cover all your bases.

Thanks everyone for your advice and support :) feel a bit calmer now

I would definitely phone the police Lucky. Identify fraud is a serious crime. I have no idea why these people think they won't get caught out.

Oh lucky, that is bloody awful and such shit timing! It does sound like everyone involved is taking things seriously (as they should!) so fingers crossed that it all gets sorted out quickly and easily for you

Thanks everyone. Sorry to hear others have had similar experiences.

We have just reported it to the Identity fraud and action fraudline as advised - they logged all the details and gave us a reference number, they liaise with the police. If the banks pay the money back they will not get involved, but they are a back up if you need them to take forward as a criminal offence.

Fingers crossed it gets sorted quickly. Sorry for hijacking the baby thread!!
I've probably caused baby loads of stress now!!

I have found some places let you open accounts without ID being seen/posted etc.
as i think the requirement is mainly for money laundering, but if you exist, you put in correct address and other details etc.
In fact i think i opened my new bank account online (it often says they let you know if you need to post id)
So that aspect is not to protect you from identity fraud.
If you bank online i would consider that (it always makes me nervous)
The fact the bank called you is probably good as it means they accept you didnt make the transactions
Interesting about the missing post as i wonder if they thought they could intercept the letters youve now received.
As sad fact is fraud is often done by people you know - carers, children etc where people trust them with pin numbers

Sorry to hear this is happening to you Lucky

fx it gets rectified as a matter of urgency for yous and that the bloody fraudster gets caught and locked up !!

Take care.

Oh god lucky that's terrible, glad you reported it to the police. Can't believe something like that can happen in this day and age. Hope you get it sorted.

Nature I have no idea how they managed it. Just came up as payment to bestholidaysdubai or something similar when I was checking my statement online one day! Crazy! The fraud department asked me if I was sure I hadnt booked a holiday as I was just back from NY and had transactions from there! I was like yeah pretty sure I would remember booking a 2.5k holiday!!

Lucky What an awful thing to happen to you. I hope that the police catch the villains and prosecute.

Nowhere near as bad but my card was cloned about 10 years ago and my bank account emptied (£1K over my overdraft). Despite the call centre staff asking whether or not I had just forgotten about spending £2.5K in one weekend, the bank were very good and restored my account within 2 days with no overdraft charges.

I really wanted the police to do something (they paid for petrol and as most garages have CCTV now, they could have traced them) but it just wasn't worth their time.

Now I wonder about the "funding terrorism" angle. How easy would it be for fundamentalists to set up new bank accounts, withdraw money and then send it off to IS or similar?

Thank you everyone for your advice and best wishes.

Our bank phoned back after investigating it and said all the money will be back in our accounts within 2 days and new cards will be sent to our local branch. Despite their failings previously, they've been bloody brilliant sorting this out. The other bank which the fraudster opened a new account with in our name has been closed and debt will be written off. It won't affect our credit rating and we are not liable for the debt.

Got an email from the council saying they are investigating the security breach which may be the source of the ID theft and referring up to senior mgr.

Reassuringly, we have now been signed up to this service: www.cifas.org.uk/ (for free, usually £20) so if the fraudster tries to open up any new accounts or take out loans using our ID, we will get a phone call to double check we've authorised it. This has eased my mind.

naturegirl I spoke to my solicitor, she was brilliant, said not to worry and she can hold all the money/sort the bills out when all this is sorted :)
Zampa You are right. people are stealing money and getting away with it. Yes, we are going to get our money back, but I doubt the idiot who took it will get caught or have to pay it back. Ultimately the consumer will pay. It's like shop lifting but on a bigger scale. Yes, it probably is funding terrorism!
Naty yep the lack of security checks with our bank is worrying
Butler yes - i was asked the same thing - "are you sure you haven't been on a shopping spree to harvey nics and not told you husband?"!!

Very happy it is all getting sorted and I just found a £10 note in my purse so that should last me until we get our new cards on Friday :) :) :)

Excellent news Lucky. Sounds like everything has been taken care of and so quickly as well which is excellent What a rollercoaster of a day you have had! Definitely take it easy tonight! Does this mean your Dh can rebook your valentines treat?

haha naturegirl I just asked my hubby if he can rebook my treat ;)

It's the first time in years he's organised something for Valentines...usually I get flowers (which is lovely) but not a meal out. He must be feeling grateful I'm carrying his baby!

That's great news Lucky, really pleased for you