Can someone scam you if you give out your sort code and account number?

I have a very bog standard bank account with very little money in it for anything online.

If I need to buy anything I need to put money into it first.
I always think if anyone gets hold of it the worst that can happen is a couple of hundred quid.

My main bank accounts etc never get used online and never get shared.

My mother in law made me laugh when she said she didn’t want to give her bank details out but she was happy to send a cheque. When I pointed out her cheque had all her bank details on she was amazed 🤣

There was once a council that had a bank account for people to pay council tax into. Someone used it to get money out. After that the local authorities all changed to an incoming only a account.

I accept bacs transfers but only after I’ve seen them in person.  They get filmed by my cctv which includes their number plate just in case.

@J-R

This happened to a friend a couple of weeks ago.  The buyer turns up and shows you on his phone that he has transferred the funds to you. But after 10 mins it doesn’t appear in your account he says he needs to go now and the money must be on its was so he wants the item.  In reality his phone was running a spoof app and he never transferred the money.

Yeah, and I’m willing to bet that things get nasty if you refuse to hand it over.

Agree with all previous comments ref if money is there then it’s as good as having cash in the pocket. However I’m also pretty sure as the OP suspects that it is a scam. Assume if you agree then the ‘buyer’ is going to alter the details somehow in order to either convince you to send the item before payment arrives, or do that dodgy money transfer thing where you get too much money from Western Union and they ask you to give some back. Something dodgy is planned somehow!

This is classic ‘a fella down the pub said’ territory.

That’s what I would have thought too

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cardsloans/article-12589851/I-loaned-50-friend-six-months-later-convicted-money-laundering.html

No, they’ll get it back from the bank that holds the hacked account, and that bank will rack it up as a fraud loss.

If they can’t recover it, if they’re both with the same bank, or both in the UK would they be quite so happy to write it off?

If they can’t recover it, if they’re both with the same bank, or both in the UK would they be quite so happy to write it off?

Not happy, but that’s what they do. You’d be gobsmacked at the amount banks write off to fraud.

And, it’s worth adding, ‘hacking’ of bank accounts, i.e. someone gaining online access to your account, is really rare and is something that it’s relatively easy for banks to prevent/spot. Where the real fraud money goes is in Authorise Push Payments, where scammers get you to make the payment from your account. This is incredibly hard for banks to spot, as how can they determine payments you’ve been tricked into making from ones you’re making that are legit. This is why you’ll see loads of warning messages when you set up payments, especially to new payees.

I’ve been trying to figure this out recently as well whilst trying to sell a wardrobe on Facebook (stealth ad!).

Sounds like an open and shut case.

As everyone else says, once they’ve transferred money to your account they can only get it back if you want them to. But in this case, what’s the scam? Why is someone who is based nowhere near me desperate to pay full price for an item they’ve not seen and that their “cousin” will come collect. And why am I getting a dozen near identical messages from similar people?

Advance Fee Fraud perhaps, you’ll need to pay some sort of fee to release the funds or cover insurance or some other bollocks, maybe the “cousin” has broken down on the M6 and needs petrol money. Or they’ll pay by something readily reversible like Western Union. Fake payments, it’s not hard to send a “you’ve been paid!” email. Etc, etc, and indeed, etc.

Western Union would be my guess.

Is there not two questions here?

Can the scam you by stealing your sort code and account number… Not really as the worst they can do is give you some money or set up a direct debit as it’s guaranteed by the bank.

Can they try and scam you with direct payment as part of a wider scam… Yes.

Are you desperate for the money ? need an operation, pay the bills etc etc. Then dont bother.

Its not that it may or may not be a scam, its not that bank transfer is safe(ish) its you are unfamiliar with the entire process, and dont automatically know the ins and outs.

If it is a scam and through not knowing the finer details of such a transaction, you lose everything, and you also have no experience on how or who to contact to find out if you can claim money back or ever if you can claim money back.

Somewhere in the region of £500m is lost through bank transfer scams. Just that amount shows those committing them are savvy, and those losing out are not. You clearly fall into the ‘not savvy’ category.