Information on Loughborough

Bank Account Scam

Posted on 09/07/2009

Leicestershire Councty Council Community Services

7 July 2009

Bank Account Scam

Never give your bank or credit card details to anyone who calls you out of the blue on the telephone. This is the warning from Leicestershire Trading Standards after receiving complaints about a new scam from people who have lost money from their accounts to fraudsters.

It appears that the scamsters usually phone to establish which bank the consumer uses. They then call again on another day, & request the customer’s bank card details as a fee to reclaim charges from a bank. Consumers have said that they were told that they were talking to a bank official, but the banks have denied this.

On at least one occasion they approached a householder saying that the bank had overcharged her for borrowings. They asked for her card details to pay them to reclaim that overcharge. This consumer had never borrowed or gone overdrawn, and so she immediately realised that this was not genuine.

David Bull, Head of Trading Standards at Leicestershire County Council, said:-

“If you give confidential information to anyone who phones you out of the blue, remember that you may be giving it to a criminal who just wants to defraud you or to a business which is not telling the truth.

“If you have reason to believe that you have been overcharged by a bank, you should first approach the bank with your evidence. If this is initially unsuccessful, follow the bank’s complaints procedure and – if this does not solve the problem – then report the matter to the Financial Ombudsman’s service. Alternatively, if the alleged loss is over £5,000.00, you could put the claim in the hands of a solicitor.”

For advice please call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06, or you can report scams at www.ripofftipoff.net

Persons to contact

  • Paul Davis - 0116 305 6534
  • Keith Regan - 0116 305 6533