Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => The Dressing Room => Topic started by: LazyNinja on March 12, 2008, 10:16:46 AM
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Someone stole and used my bank details and paid £250.90 for gift vouchers online. I contacted my bank and then they refunded me the stolen amount,
BUT
I got the vouchers in my post and a little card saying "Happy Birthday" even though my birthday is in December. WTF :? I'm creeped out. I suspect these vouchers might be fake but they seem pretty authentic. What am I supposed to do with them? It looks like I'm trying to con my bank!
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Ring the bank and ask them what they want you to do.
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my instinct would be to burn them and forget the matter
but twinfans probably right
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Either option wil probably work!
Technically the bank own them, so I'd ask them what to do. However, don't let them take the money out of your account to pay for them as you don't want to end up buying them!!!!
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Sell them to a mate for £125 and see if they get nicked trying to spend them :twisted:
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Sell them to a mate for £125 and see if they get nicked trying to spend them :twisted:
Haha brilliant idea but not to a mate I'd do it to some dicks from around here.
I called the bank. They said just return the vouchers to the company. I guess I should be sensible and do as they say although it's tempting to spend it somehow. Having a stash of money in your hands, even if they were vouchers plays funny tricks to your mind sometimes. I'm pretty shocked my head is even thinking this. But don't worry guys I'll return them.
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I'd have had a bash spending them and then pleading ignorance if I got caught "No Officer, I thought they were a late birthday present from my Auntie in New Zealand, the note looked like her handwriting"
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Yes - I think honesty would be the best course
And send them recorded delivery to have proof of receipt of them by the company.
I am worried that the company is somehow involved in the scam, as they seem to be the only beneficiary of a successful scam, unless they are a company like Amazon or whatever.
On the other hand it may be that someone is testing your details out first
It may be worth doing a credit report with Experion or Equifax to make sure that there arent other things being taken out in your name
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I'd ask you bank for advice on this too - what steps are they taking to prevent this happening again? Seems that they should cancel that card and maybe issue you with a new account number too.
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I am worried that the company is somehow involved in the scam, as they seem to be the only beneficiary of a successful scam, unless they are a company like Amazon or whatever.
On the other hand it may be that someone is testing your details out first
That's exactly what I thought too. But then the website seems legit. http://www.giftvouchershop.com
I thought someone might have been testing it out too but why would the scammer make it so obvious? I'm still baffled by this.
It may be worth doing a credit report with Experion or Equifax to make sure that there arent other things being taken out in your name
Is that to check that no one has used my name etc to sign up for a new credit card etc? Thanks I'll have a look.
I'd ask you bank for advice on this too - what steps are they taking to prevent this happening again? Seems that they should cancel that card and maybe issue you with a new account number too.
They've issued me a new card and it has a different security number on the back. This should be enough to stop the scammer from using my Visa right?
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Honesty is the best policy.
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Contact the company who issued the vouchers, ask how they were ordered, if it was online ask them to provide the IP address of whoever ordered the vouchers, hand that plus copies of eveything to the police.
The reason I say hand it over to the police is not only that you might help them stop a scammer, but if the company is involved hen the police should be able to determine that. If they do anything at all... not sure how far they will take it.
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I thought someone might have been testing it out too but why would the scammer make it so obvious? I'm still baffled by this.
Paranoia can do more damage than certainty?
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On the other hand it may be that someone is testing your details out first
Yeah, I had an incident like that - someone, somehow got hold of my card details and tried to buy a few hundred dollars' worth of clothes from New York(!). Happily NatWest must've realised I only ever buy clothes when my old ones fall to pieces and called me straight away. :wink:
But anyway, when I got my statement it turned out they'd "tested" the card first by buying some software or something for just a few quid. I got the money back.
I wouldn't use the vouchers, something's not right about it. Send them back.
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I agree with those who suggest sending them back and I am incredibly sensible.
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My bank sent my debit card to the wrong address once, and whoever got it cleaned me out. It was back in my student days, so it was all the money I'd earned during the summer (a couple of grand!).
I found out when i tried to get some cash out to buy a train ticket home from Dublin, and the machine laughed in my face. Oh, what fun.
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That's pretty messed up, sounds like it is someone you know who did that. Or you have a very serious stalker on your hands!
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In situations like these, the retailer is the one liable to recoup the costs, the Bank will just take the money back, rather than paying out of it's own pocket.
So don't go spending/selling the vouchers, because the retailer could ask for them back/charge you.
Maybe like most retailers, because they're liable in cases of fraud, they only ships to the registered cardholder address, and that caught the scammer out, so the giftvouchers arrived to you.
I would expect them to notice though that the vouchers went out to your address and are recoverable, so I would wait a few months to see if you hear from them. They might have contacted the police to investigate, so even if they hadn't noticed that you got the vouchers and not the scammer, they might notice it sometime afterwards.
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I certainly wouldn't spend those vouchers, and don't let anyone know your exact date of birth since banks often still think it's a good method of verification!!!!!!!!!!
I had a similar thing where lot's of £49.99 (apparently under £50, the verification is easier) had been taken all in one day right up to the end of my overdraft limit but Lloyds TSB never gave the money back. Someone had been applying for cards in my name as well and screwed up my credit rating. Turned out that if I'd gone to the police first, they'd have given it back. What bank are you with? I'm tempted to
transfer my account there.