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Warning issues over bank fraud committed by phone

February 2, 2009 by admin  
Filed under News, News-Banking

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Consumers are being warned to be careful about calls that they receive claiming to be from someone at their bank, stating that this is a common way for fraudsters to get information from accountholders and use it to commit fraudulent transactions.

Officials are warning consumers that if they receive a call that is apparently from their bank and they are asked for their password or account number they should make sure that they do not hand out this information.

The warning has come from police authorities following a spate of similar activity in Scotland, where accountholders in the Highlands have been targeted by calls that are apparently from their banks and have been asked for sensitive information such as their account numbers and passwords.

Consumers are advised never to give this information out, and if in doubt to terminate the call and then ring their bank directly to find out whether the call was genuine or not.

Over the last six months around twenty accountholders in the Highlands have lost money as a result of these scams. These accountholders gave out confidential data thinking that it was the bank on the phone, and then found that money had been transferred out of their accounts.

One police officer said that some people had lost a lot of money, stating: “This is a scam that goes around on a fairly continuous basis. Some of the losses are in excess of between £10,000 and £20,000.”

The police stated that customers should always err on the side of caution to be on the safe side, stating: “If you are in any doubt at all, you shouldn’t be giving out any information whatsoever. If you do get these calls, call your bank on their recognised number.”

Tags: bank fraud, Highlands, doubt, Banking Services, Advance-fee fraud, police authorities, police, losses

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