A few days ago I remarked to Mrs Ranty that the bank balance seemed a tad low. I further remarked that I should be pleased with my Christmas prezzies.
She says "I've bought you bugger all. I thought you said we should stop buying shiny things?"
I know I've bought her very little, so the alarm bells went off. I got online and tried to trace any purchases. We recognised all the standard stuff: direct debits, cash withdrawals, petrol, food shopping etc. What I didn't recognise was over £1,000 worth of shite. Clothes and perfumes.
Turns out some light-fingered bastard has been helping themselves to our money.
Now, I appreciate that this is the season for giving, but I will find and prosecute this thief to the fullest extent of the law. My rules, my laws, remember, are very simple: cause no harm, injury or loss to another man or woman, and do not make mischief with my contracts.
This fucker has caused me a loss. They have stolen from me.
I don't care if it turns out to be a one-legged lesbian from Lithuania who was abused by leery Larry in the living room. They will pay. I do not steal from anyone and I demand the same courtesy in return.
Bastards!
Update 12:28
Well, bugger me sideways!
I reported the shenanigans at 8:30 this morning. It is not yet 12:30 and the whole amount (£1,029.36) has been returned to my account!
Fantastic response from the Bank of Scotland! Thanks fraud peeps, have a lovely Christmas!!
CR.
It happened to my other half and no matter what happened (once they'd stopped accusing him of doing it), they wouldn't divulge the name of the thief.
ReplyDeleteSue,
ReplyDeleteDid he get his money back?
CR.
I had this when my card got cloned a couple of years back. Bank returned all the money rather promptly
ReplyDeleteEventually. The thief caused an overdraft on his account and his credit rating suffered as a consequence. All in all, it took a good 9 months to clear the whole mess up.
ReplyDeleteAnd then they refused to renew his credit card!
That's Barclays for you!
Does Mrs Ranty read your blog? If so, she now knows you bought her some Chrismas presents.
ReplyDeleteTBF,
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving me some hope.
CR.
Sue,
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking that hope away!
CR.
Bucko,
ReplyDeleteShe does not. But when we were going through the "dodgy" transactions she spotted that someone had purchased jewelry from a place in the Orkneys. When I need something special it is my "go to" outlet. So she knows that she has something unique, but that is small comfort.
CR.
I had an ex tenant diddle me ,what the thieving trash did was he ordered a load of stuff from a catalogue under my name and had it delivered to the address .
ReplyDeleteI did not find out until he was kicked out after his one year contract ,you see the git left owing 900 pounds in rent as well.
Plus a broken window and the premises took two days to clean.
I had to jump through hoops to prove it was not me to the debt collectors ,then clear the bad credit rating I got.
The only solace I have is he has debt collectors after him for the unpaid rent and the goods he ordered and he may be charged with fraud now .
As far as I know he disappeared after this.
My hunch is he had been up to a lot more than this ,probably had some really heavy people on him as well.
Hence the runner.
From my point of view I will never have DSS tenants again that was the first and the last,my current tenant works and pays their dues.
Now though I have insurance to cover non payment of rent or card identity theft fraud.
As the economic situation worsens this types of petty crime can only increase.
Anon,
ReplyDeleteWTF is wrong with people?
Get a fucking job and buy your own stuff, FFS! If you can't afford it, either do without or save up.
I wondered why I saw so many "To Let" ads with the phrase "No DSS". Slack bastards. Decent people pay what they owe. I always have.
Assuming they can prove that I owe them in the first place. (I refer to the govt here).
Glad you got it all sorted eventually.
CR.
Bad luck Captain!
ReplyDeleteI've had cards done before too, and only after chip & pin was introduced. I distinctly remember being told many years ago - in a blaze of fanfare and publicity - that chip & pin would prevent such things taking place. I bet card fraud is actually worse now than before chip & pin.
These days I only keep sufficient amounts in the bank to pay the few remaining DDs I still have, everything else goes "elsewhere". I drip feed it every month so that the payments go out without a problem.
There could be a distinct possibility of bank obstinacy. "Well it's chip & pin and that's infallible so you must have authorised it...", or "our online systems work just fine..." etc.
Could have happened in many ways - card reader skimmed at a shop (one of mine was definitely the result of that), or perhaps a dodgy computer when accessing online banking. Crap security at online stores or cardcos, false front on a cashpoint, corps selling or losing data, the list is probably endless.
They never caught the ones who did mine either.
Regards
TSL
TSL,
ReplyDeleteAll the fraud happened online, so I know I* must have used a dodgy website to buy something.
* the bank confirmed it was only my card details used online.
It just sickens me. I would never dream of doing this to someone else.
I recall that chip & pin propaganda as well.
They also said that DVD's and CD's were indestructible on Tomorrows World. Why is it that if I even look at mine funny they never play again?
CR.
I dislike PayPal but use it whenever I can online so the bloke the other end doesn't get my card details.
ReplyDeleteSome bastard in Germany tried to extract €24000 in four sessions on my credit card. Luckily, the card company spotted three of them and phoned me. They blocked them. I spotted the fourth attempt and phoned them.
Well done John Lewis!!
Also I can't believe that people are actually stupid enough to sign a letter with all their card details on including the thre digits on the back and then put in the post. I've been asked to do this in the past and simply refuse to play.
I agree with you - bastards!
Yep,been a victim myself of these lowlifes,to the tune of three grand.
ReplyDeleteI had to report it to the police to get a crime number before the halifux
would redeem my money.
That was 3 years ago now,i did get all back.
I was'nt just angry,i felt violated,like you would if someone broke into your home.
They halifux would'nt tell me anything,so i'll never know if they were ever caught.
Incidently i had flex account card with no chip and pin for many years with nationwide,they in their wisdom decided to upgrade my card to a chip and pin in july of this year,within six weeks my card got stopped because it had unusal transaction on it.
over an hour on the phone to sort it out........ggrrr.
Charles,
ReplyDeleteI thought PayPal was one of the worst so I have never used it.
I look for the little gold padlock indicating a secure site, and I stick (mostly) to the big names.
Not sure how this happened but I am keen to find out so I don't fuck up again.
Also pleased to hear that you got your money back.
CR.
Berni,
ReplyDeleteThis is more common than I thought! Good to know that you got it squared away.
So much for new technology, eh?
And some of the sheep think that implanting chips is the way to go! Imagine if you DO upset TPTB and they simply disable your chip and suddenly you can't eat, pay your rent/mortgage, or collect pensions or other benefits.
Fucking madness.
CR.
Has happened to me three times - last time after receiving a new card that was never signed or activated...
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteDon't tell me that!!
They are sending a new card to me. I really do not want to go through this again.
Still, it all ended well!!!
I are a happy teddy once again.
CR.
The best thing to do is to have a separate card for buying stuff with a different bank than your main account.
ReplyDeleteAt least then, if you do get robbed, it will not mess everything up.
Good idea.
ReplyDeleteI have a second account but I don't use it for much these days.
Time for a rethink.
CR.
It's much harder for them to do in Spain. When you buy something with a debit or credit card out shopping, you have to show extra ID, something with a photo.
ReplyDeleteIf you buy something online you have to register the card with your NI Number which is then used as an extra bit of data they ask for.
We only buy online with pre-paid credit cards now and cash whenever possible. I hate plastic.
Sue,
ReplyDeleteThe BOS used to have an added layer of security for online purchases but that stopped about six weeks ago.
I can't help thinking that if it was still in place this could not have happened.
Never considered pre-paid cards. I will mull that over as well.
CR.
A lot more common CR.
ReplyDeleteCouple of years back several mobile phone top ups went through my account (I've never had a mobile), and before that someboby tried to withdraw cash from an ATM in Germany although without success.
I think there is a vast ocean of our personal financial details out there in cyberspace which the crooks and insiders can dip into almost at will. It was your turn this time Cpt'n.
On the positive side I have noticed with all of these stories banks have always made good losses with very little fuss. Which makes me think they are very worried about people losing confidence in the whole banking system.
TR,
ReplyDeleteSo it seems.
I am uber pleased that the bank refunded the money so quickly but this has to be my fault, not theirs. Since the fraud happened as a result of me using it online. I know it doesn't excuse the fucknugget that helped him/herself, but the bank are not at fault, surely?
If anyone is innocent in this it is the bank, no?
(And just for the record, it really hurts me to have to say that).
CR.
CR
ReplyDeleteIf anyone is innocent in this it is the bank, no?
No. When you hand over your card details the merchant has access to a method of processing that transaction whether it be automatically or manually. That access has been granted to the merchant by the bank or their agents such as Visa or Delta. Someone, somewhere, probably a new or temporary employee of a firm you have dealt with, has copied your details and sold them on to the tea leaf for about £50. The thief now goes on a spending spree with your cash making lots of online or telephone 'customer not present' purchases. This means that it is the retailers who lose out not the bank and the person who originally stole your details is virtually untraceable.
They don't give a damn about the security of your details.
Impressed that they credited you again so quickly, though if I were you I'd keep an eye on it just in case they decide it was you after all and take it out again.
ReplyDeleteresult me ole chum
ReplyDeleteBut why did Bank of Scotland spend your hard-earned money on a load of perfume? Never mind. At least you found them out. All's well that ends well.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got it back so quickly C.R.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I never use online or telephone banking. Years in computers/telecomms taught me that no system is secure. Roll on quantum cryptology, then info will be safe(ish).
Yep,been a victim myself of these lowlifes,to the tune of thirty three pence.
ReplyDeleteI had to report it to the police to get a crime number before the halifux
would redeem my money.
That was 3 years ago now,i did get all back.
I was\\\'nt just angry,i felt violated,like you would if someone broke into your home.
They halifux would\\\'nt tell me anything,so i\\\'ll never know if they were ever caught.
Incidently i had flex account card with no chip and pin for many years with nationwide,they in their wisdom decided to upgrade my card to a chip and pin in july of this year,within six weeks my card got stopped because it had unusal transaction on it, the loose pennies under the wardrobe were not affected
over an hour on the phone to sort it out
I too had a problem years ago pre chip & pin, luckily small amounts & didn't take long to sort out.
ReplyDeleteAlso a plea to not tar all benefit claimants with the same brush - behaving decently & honourably is not dependent on how much money you have (look at the politicians!)
Thanks all, for the comments.
ReplyDeleteEllie,
You are quite right.
I spaketh whilst full of angerment.
My apologies.
CR.
smoking hot said...
ReplyDeleteWhy change my post????????
How sad.
Glad it all got sorted Cap, very distressing I'm sure. You should try to find that website again and report the fuckers. There are rules governing storage of credit card data by online processing facilities, anyone in breach of will face the wrath of plod. I'm not mad keen on rules or plod but in this case it makes sense. If some scumbag working at the website *did* hand over your details to a third party, the entire company is in breach of PCI DSS and can be nuked from orbit. Read this if you want more details - http://www.pcicomplianceguide.org/pcifaqs.php
ReplyDeleteThanks GB.
ReplyDeleteI'll check it out.
I wouldn't be averse to calling plod for something like this. It's just theft, plain & simple.
No need for statutes at all.
CR.
It may not be an online retailer at fault.
ReplyDeleteSome years ago, only a few days after her having received a brand new card, we were phoned late in the evening by daughter's bank's card security people asking if she was in Thailand because of a large transaction on her card. She said no, she had just returned from having diner with a friend and had just used the card for the first time ever at our local pub!
To be fair the bank refunded the asian transaction immediately. But a new card, never used online, never been in a machine - the card information must have been leaked by the bank or card manufacturer.
I have had mine cloned twice now. The first time on a trip to Oxfordshire I thought was just random bad luck.
ReplyDeleteThe second time also on a trip to Oxfordshire I decided was not a coincidence.
It was either a supermarket or a petrol station. I didn't use the internet for a week so it was not that.
Cahoot paid back straight away with no argument.
Despite the seemingly 'massive' levels of fraud the ACTUAL number of offenses can only amount to a fraction of one percent of ALL transactions - not that I am justifying ANY of these fraudulent actions at all. In the whole scheme of things it does tend to get more publicity than it deserves and we should keep a level head when thinking about the overall security arrangements that are in place.
ReplyDeleteFor most frauds it comes down to carelessness of the cardholder (letting the card be taken away to be 'swiped', leaving details lying around, whether on paper or on a PC etc etc).
No system is 100% secure - NONE at all - but remember this..... if it was £1000 in CASH that you were robbed of, there'd be NO chance of you seeing it again......
These thieves must be as thick as mince. They ordered a grands worth of gear and they must have given an address for delivery.
ReplyDeleteHow hard would it be to find and nail the bastards?
There are ways round that which would make it much harder. My dad once received some consumer electronics stuff he hadn't ordered and the delivery instructions said if out leave it in the porch... which is out of sight of the road and out of the rain but has no way to stop someone turning up and taking anything that's been left there. Fortunately he was in and once he'd checked with the missus that nothing was expected he told the delivery guy that he was refusing delivery. No idea if it was a simple mistake but I've always felt that stolen or fraudulent credit card use was a good possibility. I think they just look for appropriate places to have things delivered to and order things with companies that can be specific about the delivery date. Some will be lost when the householder turns up unexpectedly and sends it all back but if they can nab a reasonable proportion then that's probably enough given that the advantage of not being linked to the addresses they use.
Glad you got your money back CR.
ReplyDeleteNice of Dave_G the bank PR guy to swing by as well. Not good PR to blame the victims for the crappy fraud ridden system though Dave. A fraction of one per cent of all transactions is massive and you are admitting that it is a statistical certainty that all customers will get ripped off at some point.
Your point about not seeing the money again if it was cash is a false premise. If it was cash it wouldn't have happened.
Time for a rethink of the whole system. Get your money out of the banks; it is not safe. If the scallies don't get it the crooks in suits the other side of the counter will.
@captain, although the bank has refunded you, they will not be out of pocket either. They will chargeback the retailers (on your behalf) who the crook bought stuff from - likely they didn't follow address verification procedures etc. So it will be the retailers who ultimately end up out of pocket.
ReplyDeleteEllis
I have had mine cloned twice now. The first time on a trip to Oxfordshire I thought was just random bad luck,most frauds it comes down to carelessness of the cardholder (letting the card be taken away to be \\\'swiped\\\', leaving details lying around, whether on paper or on a PC etc etc)but if they can nab a reasonable proportion then that\\\'s probably enough given that the advantage of not being linked to the addresses they use,So it will be the retailers who ultimately end up out of pocket.
ReplyDeleteI've never had an issue with my bank account, I don't keep any cash in the card account and just shunt it over via online banking with the smart phone when I need cash, it's available almost instantly.
ReplyDeleteI have had issues with my credit card in the past. I know have a Neteller card. This comes with an app that generates a single use card number for online shopping so even if it is compromised, it's no use. A bit more hassle to use, but worth looking in to!
Paypal is as open to fraud as any other.
ReplyDeleteHad over £300 taken out of my account through paypal. They didn't inform me, only found out when I got a letter from the bank a week later with overdraft fees.
Paypal, when contacted, said they had know about this, but were waiting for me to contact them...grrr.
Got it sorted and, well, paypal, I suppose to their credit credited my account with the overdraft fee.
It's often the bank staff, local bank manager told me they struggle to find honest people.
ReplyDeleteIn a large international supermarket recently I handed my chip & pin card to the cashier at the checkout. As he put it into the card reader, I told him that - I would need to input the PIN number. He looked at me as if I had spoken ancient Greek and tapped a button on the till marked "by-pass PIN".
ReplyDeleteThe transaction then went ahead normally.
What security???
Oddly enough, while I was waiting for the new card to arrive, I had to use my second account but I had forgotten the PIN. I went into the bank and they did the same!
ReplyDeleteI asked if they needed ID and they said no. They did the by-pass PIN thing.
Just gave me the £200 I asked for!
CR.