mugu asking for bank account on phone

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Master Baiter Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 213

long story short:

Am in oriental student in UK.

something just happened....

some one called :
asked my name which i told him
then my name of the bank, which also i told him
asked my account type, told him that also

this set off some alarms !

then he asked my bank account, did not give him that
i asked why, he claimed to be from charity, and need my account number to credit the extra money that the charity had taken from my account...

i said no one ever took my money.

then he got furious, started saying dont you want your money back....

the number UK mobile number,

i guess this is a sort of scram, now what was this about ? and what exactly sort of land mine was i going to step on ?
have i successfully avoided that thing ?
or do i need to alert the bank / police ?

Master Baiter Joined: 04 Mar 2007 Posts: 125 Location: UK

It would appear that crisis has been averted - as long as he doesn't have your account number...

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:56 pm

I used to work at a bank - not in anything exotic - I was in I.T., well sort of - I wrote software for the bank.

Anyway, we got an internal memo about that sort of scam.

The memo warned us about banking security, etc... there are so many banking scams you wouldnt believe!! some of them are very clever.

Anyway, about this scam...

Typically, they would use some sort of VoIP client to call, making it look like their number was in the UK, or wherever, however sometimes they would call locally - according to the memo, the phone guys had no "typical" origin, and varied from local grown scum to easter european gangs to african lads.

Here's how the scam works... they say something shocking, like that all of your money has been taken, or that you are going to be arrested for money laundering, and only by "confirming" a few details will your money be returned, or your name cleared. They will ask you for sensitive info, that you may not be willing to give up under normal circumstances - the victim is put off guard - thinking they are in serious trouble. This way, they can extract everything they need - account numbers, PINs, security details, credit card numbers, etc.

Tell the police, but trust me, the UK police are about as useful as testicles on the pope.

Master Baiter Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 213

can anyone in UK get money out of anyone bank account with just a name, bank name, account type and account number ?

that was all he was after....

Not quite a Newb Joined: 26 Feb 2008 Posts: 47

Eesh. Depending on how smart and social smart the guy is, he very well might be able to.

It is very possible to get access to stuff you shouldn't have just by having some information and sounding like you know what you talk about and belong. Throw around stuff (Hi, my name is XXX and I recently lost my account number. I already talked to Mr. Bank CEO and he told me to call you about this after talking to Mr. Head of Security. Mr. Security head....)

I will say that sort of thing takes time to do. I will also say most people are not bright enough to do it, and judging by the fact that the guy got pissed off he probably does not know how to do it.

Still, it might be prudent to put an alert on your account just the same.

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 2:00 pm

I still work in a bank.

Quote:

can anyone in UK get money out of anyone bank account with just a name, bank name, account type and account number

In theory, no. If he rang a callcentre he would (should) typically be asked further security questions (date of birth, postcode etc). Unless he answered all the questions satisfactorily, they'd refuse to divulge any information.

If he went into a branch, claiming to have lost an atm card, he would (should) be asked for other ID (driving licence, passport).

Having said that, there's always the possibility of an inexperienced/lazy/incompetent operator/cashier not following procedures. If you're in any doubt, speak to the bank.

Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 2:11 pm

Firstly nobody3 - you are safe Very Happy

, but it was a phishing type scam attempt and it has most commonly happened with people with clipboards in the street posing as charities trying to collect donations and asking for bank details.

It's a clumsy method and what can they do with the information ? Well, it's a little like finding a key in the street. If they jiggle it in enough locks, they may strike lucky, but usually they'll fail.

Remember - you made him angry (nice work - I make scammers angry too) and that confirms he didn't get what he wanted. Wink

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