Card Clonned!

Received a strange BT Answer 1571 message yesterday asking me to urgently call back and that it was the Halifax. I rung them back this morning when I got into the office and it was a weird automated service.

I rung the Halifax through the main number off their website (which I have used many times before!) and ended up being put through to the Fraud Department. It seemingly was the Halifax that tried to contact me and someone had tried to make two transactions with my account details. (Only for a grand total of £31). Thankfully the bank declined these transactions as they are 'normal' fraudulent ones that didn't fit in with my normal spending..30quid to o2 mobile top up and £1 on the Apple Store.

Anyone else had this happen? Thankfully they only tried to take out two tanks of petrol or 6 packs of cigs..depending on how you work ...I would hate for this to happen on a greater scale!

Stay safe people

In the thread title I obviously meant 'Cloned'

It's more common than most people think!

Good catch by the Halifax automated systems!

The closest I've got is whilst paying for a few things on my credit card, the card company have called me to say "someone's trying to spend £x on your card in <insert store here>. Would you like us to decline the transaction?" - to which I replied no thank you, I'm trying to buy something!!!

yep again halifux 3 transactions for €5 on line from germany then 3 more for $100 at a casino in Nevada

took 3 weeks to pay money back into my account

Originally Posted by Baph

It's more common than most people think!

Good catch by the Halifax automated systems!

The closest I've got is whilst paying for a few things on my credit card, the card company have called me to say "someone's trying to spend £x on your card in <insert store here>. Would you like us to decline the transaction?" - to which I replied no thank you, I'm trying to buy something!!!

Me and maria have had similar when I wanted to renew my xbox live account we were pleased though, it shows they are working and are alert

I think its amazing that they can figure it out, Ive had them call me before when using it overseas for the first time

Originally Posted by pencil shavings

I think its amazing that they can figure it out, Ive had them call me before when using it overseas for the first time

Thanks for reminding me, I'm off to Belgium soon and will be using my card there. I rarely go abroad so I'm sure that they'll block anything I do.

Well it seems the bank did their job...

[gruntygiggles]

I wish I'd just had a card cloned. I used to have perfect credit and a relatively stress free life. Then in 2006 someone stole my identity, walked into three banks, one of which was my own and with no photo ID, but documents and cards stolen from my home, they took out two large loans and were allowed to walk out of the bank with the cash, took out 5 credit cards by online applications in the three weeks that I was away working and maxed them all out.

The really annoying thing is that they didn't take a loan out with my own bank, they must have known that I would have seen it when I checked my balance online, but they did order paper copies of three months bank statements (probably for proof of income as I didn't keep paperwork at home).

To make matters worse, the person or people behind it, made the loan and minimum card payments for over 6 months, until I moved house. The very month I moved was when the payments stopped and the first I found out about any of this was when I had threatening letters from debt collections agencies come to my new house after being there for a few months. They'd traced me through my local council.

This was in 2006 and early 2007 and I have only very recently had my credit file restored, but, because I have not taken any credit since it happened, I am back to square one almost. Police were very helpful but could not find the culprit(s).

Nightmare and so the first thing I would say for anyone to do is not just sign up to get your experian credit reports online so you get alerts and can keep track of things, but go even further. I now have a password set up on my credit file with Equifax, Call Credit and Experian which means that no one can even apply for anything without that password which I have never even written down anywhere.

So, rather than getting an alert should it happen again and be in a position again where you have to prove that it wasn't you before getting your money back/getting things sorted.......the person trying to defraud you will be caught in the act.

If someone tries to get credit in my name now and say, goes into a bank for a loan or into a garage to buy a car on credit, they'll get to give all the information, and when it gets sent for approval, the screen will show a message advising the sales person to instruct the applicant to call that credit agency and go through security and give the password or parts of it. That fraudster would not know that password and the agency advisor would pretend everything was ok, ask to speak to the sales advisor and tell them to pretend all is well and continue with the pretend sale. The advisor would be given a code and a telephone number to go into a private office and call the police so that the fraudster could be arrested in the act on the premises.

It's the only way to be prefectly safe and anyone that knows me or Stretchie will know what a head ache we have both had over it all.

Thankfully, it's pretty much over know, but I was told that it can take up to three years in such complex cases.

I'm glad Halifax were so on the ball for you. Keep vigilant!!!