- This topic has 63 replies, 36 voices, and was last updated 12 years ago by dirtyrider.
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Someone is giving me money. Why?
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freddygFree Member
Good morning STW.
I think I know the answer to this, but until I’ve had it confirmed by the financial institution in question, I’m going to continue to fantasise about how I’m going to spend it.
This isn’t, as far as I know, the usual ‘my wealthy Nigerian Uncle is wanting you to ‘look after’ some of his dosh for a bit and in return he’ll bung you a few quid’ type affair. This one could be a little more sinister.
A few weeks ago, I received a letter from a supermarket bank I have never had any previous dealings with. I ignored it as junk mail and it remained on my ‘to be shredded’ pile in the kitchen. A couple of days later, another arrived; again it was ignored.
Last week a third letter was received. MrsG was at home going through some paperwork, she called me up and asked if I knew what this stuff was and could she dispose of it. I said to shred it – nowt to do with me.
She opened the letters and immediately called me back, a little p!ssed and a little perplexed. The first letter was a ‘thank you for opening an internet savings account’, the second was the account details and the third was a direct debit mandate wanting signing. I didn’t think there were any trust issues in our relationship (married 21 years an none so-far) but MrsG was quite suspiscious as to why I would open an account without her knowledgs – all of our finances are shared.
Yesterday a fourth letter arrived. MrsG called me up and I told her to open it up immediately. It said (I have it in front of me know so will quote directly):
Dear MrG
Sort Code: NN-NN-NN, Account Number: NNNNNNNN.Thank you. We’ve received your first payment.
Amount of first Payment: £10,000.00
Yours sincerely
Blah, blah, blah.
WTF? 😯
I’ve been in contact with the bank and they have confirmed that this is a legitimate account. Whoever set this up has my full name, address and date of birth. They also know the first name of my Son as they have used this as part of the on-line ‘code name’. They were unable to tell me over the phone where the deposit came from but are currently investigating.
I have no idea who would do this, I thought it might have been my Dad, but he has no knowledge of it.
So. In the mean time, do I need a new bike/telly/car/holiday or should I blow the lot on hookers?
Your opinions are welcomed.
CougarFull MemberI think I’d be very tempted to transfer the funds and close the account. Then change your name, son’s name and date of birth.
wwaswasFull Memberthe police will be visiting shortly to arrest you for money laundering.
Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition
Latest Singletrack VideosFresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...epicycloFull MemberI suspect you are about to go into a lot of debt…
Looks like someone is setting up the conditions for a loan.
eg dodgy dude owns a house, lines up dodgy survey and sells it to “you” at inflated price. “You” pay with a mortgage, so dodgy dude now has the money. A few payments are made from “your” account and then left to default. Next thing you know, bank is on to you, and of course, they don’t believe a word you say.
joao3v16Free MemberOr…
It sounds like an account set up fraudulantly for money laundering purposes.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the £10,000 is withdrawn at some point soon by some other unknown 3rd party.
If you’ve informed the instutution in question that you never asked for the account to be opened they should have procedures in place & get their fraud department involved.
titusriderFree MemberIf I were you id get the police notified to insure against the above/ any other dodgy dealing.
if you fancy keeping it though, just move it 🙂 ( although surely ALL your financial dealings are now very vulnerable if some dodgy scamp knows everything about you)
binnersFull MemberI’d be a tad concerned if it was me. Whoever has deposited that money, has all your personal details. And, without trying to sound alarmist, people who chuck tens of thousands of pounds into random bank accounts, I would imagine, won’t have come by that money legitimately. Otherwise they’d have put it into their own bank account. And I would imagine its rightful owner could be potentially quite scary
I’d be onto the police pretty damn quick. This has money laundering written all over it
freddygFree MemberHmmm…
I have contacted the bank, who are investigating, but didn’t think about contacting the police. One of my neighbours as a copper. I’ll ask MrsG to go knock on his door.
deadlydarcyFree MemberThis has money laundering written all over it
Until its been cleaned.
midlifecrashesFull MemberI’d go into damage limitation mode, contact anyone you have an account with, get new cards issued on fresh numbers, contact credit ref agencies and see when/if recent checks have been done etc. Oh and move the money. If you don’t want to keep it yourself, it’d be welcome at 40-05-30/51535293 😉
timcFree MemberThere is no harm in taking a cautious approach, worst case scenario, a nasty headache for sure! I would notifying the police, the bank again & document your actiosn to safegaurd yourself.
Quite scary tbh.
Gee-JayFree MemberI had something not dissimilar & the first thing the police did was check it wasn’t the kids or misses setting me up … the theory being that it had to be somebody who could access the post.
It wasn’t (thank god) and we never really worked it out but the police gave me crime numbers etc which helped when talking to the fraud departments of banks before anything nasty could happen.
Good luck and change everything you can
martinhutchFull MemberConsidering whoever set up the account is breaking the law by pretending to be you, involving the police is the right thing.
I’d also want the peace of mind of running an experian credit check to see if there are any naughty loans in your name.
stick_manFull MemberI had something along these lines happen to me, although in my case someone was using my details to set up mobile phone contracts. Over a 3 day period I received contract and insurance details for about a dozen new phones with all the main providers, using my personal details.
Report it to the police and get a crime ref number.
Report it to the Bank’s Fraud deptOf course the problem you’ve got now they have your details is they could possibly open other accounts elsewhere.
Gary_MFree MemberI wouldn’t be surprised if the £10,000 is withdrawn at some point soon by some other unknown 3rd party.
I don’t understand how someone could deposit or withdraw from this account if the bank account details were sent to you at your home address. How would the person who set up the account get those details for a new account?
I also don’t understand that if this is criminal activity then why the perp would think that anyone receiving letters about a new account in your name that you know nothing about and thats got £10k in it wouldn’t be asking the bank questions.
And if I were you I wouldn’t touch the money, you may have to explain to some very nasty people where their 10k has gone.
flowFree MemberTake the money, whats the worst that could happen? You wife is kidnapped and held hostage. Well worth 10k.
freddygFree Memberflow – Member
Take the money, whats the worst that could happen? You wife is kidnapped and held hostage. Well worth 10k.<remembers MrsG is an occasional lurker>
Flow! I couldn’t possibly do that, please withdraw your statement at once!
</remembers MrsG is an occasional lurker>breatheeasyFree MemberI don’t understand how someone could deposit or withdraw from this account if the bank account details were sent to you at your home address. How would the person who set up the account get those details for a new account?
Fairly easily – set it up online with a dodgy hotmail account – emails you all the details you need. I could walk into a bank with your sortcode and account number and pay cash into it, normally no questions asked, or a transfer possibly from a credit card that’s probably been set up in your name too…
Fairly easy to take payment out too, instant transfer as the scammer obviously has all the passwords to the account.
helsFree MemberNot quite “no questions asked” you have to produce photo ID and address verification to deposit cash over a certain amount under Money Laundering regs.
mudsharkFree MemberCould you put a block on the account so nothing can come out? Then wait a few years and it all is well spend it.
Gary_MFree Memberset it up online with a dodgy hotmail account – emails you all the details you need
The last time I set up an online account the details weren’t emailed to me but posted. Didn’t realise it was quite that simple and I would have thought with all the money laundering laws in place than it wouldn’t be that simple.
CougarFull MemberTake the money, whats the worst that could happen?
Yes. Stealing ten grand from professional criminals who know where you live and have personal details of your family. What’s the worst that could happen?
pop-larkinFree MemberBlimey- he asked for some good well thought out advice didnt he!!!
New bike ..then hookers everytime 😆
AlasdairMcFull MemberWas it exactly £10k placed into that account? What was the originating account? Bear in mind that £10k is enough to trigger a bank’s anti money laundering flag requiring confirmation of the source of the funds and any crook worth their salt will know this.
Who was the bank, and have you ever banked with them or any of their associates? You mention it’s a supermarket bank, and most of them have a retail banking partner with whom they will have shared systems.
Is it possible that your record was created for another product and thus the linking of the product to your customer record instead of someone else’s has been the issue?
flowFree MemberYes. Stealing ten grand from professional criminals who know where you live and have personal details of your family. What’s the worst that could happen?
Errr, thats why that sentence was followed by
Your wife is kidnapped and held hostage. Well worth 10k.
🙄
CougarFull MemberErrr, thats why that sentence was followed by
I was agreeing with you. I know this is STW, but not every post has to be a competitive argument.
matthewlhomeFree Memberi had a similar thing happen but without the massive balance being put into the account. I called the bank to ask what it was and after a conversation with them they suspended the account and investigated it as it was an ID theft.
The bank also placed a registration on CIFAS which all the banks use in case someone tried it again.
ALso ran an experian check. Was interesting to see that this new account had been checked too, but the bank had not done all they should before setting it up.
freddygFree MemberUpdates:
I’ve been on to the bank again (Tesco). They’ve frozen the account, notified CIFAS and will notify the rozzers.
I have been on to Equifax and checked my credit rating – all good there. No mention of the Tescos account though.
I’ve also been intouch with a friend of mine (who also happens to be CID – why I didn’t contact him straight away, I’ll never know) and am waiting for a reply.
AlasdairMC – yes it was a straight 10k. The only thing I’ve ever used Tesco for is online shopping.
Why didn’t I empty the account? The thought crossed my mind, but then so did the images of a pair of Heavies with pick-axe handles and a jerry-can of unleaded. 😆
Gary_MFree MemberI have been on to Equifax and checked my credit rating – all good there. No mention of the Tescos account though.
Isn’t that very odd?
mudsharkFree Memberimages of a pair of Heavies with pick-axe handles and a jerry-can of unleaded.
Can you keep posting just so we know you haven’t met them?
thepuristFull Memberfreddy – have you double checked that the numbers you’re calling the bank on are genuine, and not just stuck on the letter to redirect you to the Nigerian call centre?
tonydFull MemberVery scary OP. I’d also be calling the polis and bank. Get everything documented and acknowledged, if this really is the type of thing epicyclo is talking about it’s too big a risk not to. You could end up on the hook for hundreds of thousands of pounds.
I realise this is a tad alarmist but I generally don’t get that alarmed by stuff, this however would scare me silly.
portlyoneFull MemberOpen up an account using a false name and address and forward the money to “them” 😉
Gary_MFree MemberSo the thugs are now £10k down, I’d pack my bags quickly
But surely their plan was flawed from the start. Set up bank account in someone elses name, send the account details to that persons house, then pay £10k into said account in the hope that the person doesn’t think any of this is odd.
I’m no identity theftist but surely the ‘sending the account details to the persons house’ is the fatal flaw in the plan?
But the ‘thank you we’ve received your first payment’ letter is odd too. But that may well be a supermarket bank welcome strategy.
DrPFull MemberThat’s where my money went… Thanks for reminding me, I must have swapped a zero or something….
Please forward it to me (paypal gift to this address) and we’ll leave it at that, cheers..
DrP
tonydFull MemberCould be they’re testing the water. It’s slightly higher stakes, but my missus found a couple of dodgy transaction on her bank statement some time ago, just a couple of quid here and there – train ticket, phone top up card. She called the bank and they cancelled the card immediately, telling her that often in card fraud there’s a few small transactions to see if they get noticed, then they hit it hard and spend spend spend.
It’s possible this is something similar, if a banks standard practice is to send account details by post (I’d imagine it is) then maybe they count on people assuming it’s junk mail and hoping it gets thrown away. Once that initial postal contact is done you can go online and go crazy. £10k is a hell of a lot of money, but if you stand to make 10s or 100s of k then it might be worth it. If you can defraud to the tune of say 100k per instance, then even if you lose 2 lots of £10k in 5 you’re still up by £280k.
Also – could be they have a ‘friendly’ postman but he was off sick.
Of course, could be my imagination is getting away with me now too! Very interested to hear how this pans out OP, please keep us updated.
freddygFree Memberin the hope that the person doesn’t think any of this is odd.
I guess they work on the assumption that most people are gullible and would go “Woop, woop – free money!!”
It does all seem very peculiar (and a bit scary). I have all of the paperwork in front of me now – including the pre-paid return envelope for returning the signed document to.
The numbers I have called were pulled direct from the Tesco website.
The really scary thing is the heavies – I work away all week. MrsG is at home alone with the BabyGs 😐
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