Came home from shopping this lunchtime to a voicemail from the bank urging me to phone them asap – which caused a bit sick feeling in the stomach.
It seems someone has managed to clone my debit card and is trying to empty my bank account from Tunisia.
Fortunatly, they only got £80 before the bank decided this was a bit dodgy and they blocked all the subsequent attempts.
But now I am without a debit card for a week and will have to process a claim to get that initial £80 back.
Bugger :(
The same thing happened to me last week. Unfortunately my bank did not contact me and a total of almost 1000 pounds was withdrawn from different ATMs in Tunesia. Good luck claiming your money back.
Any hint as to how did they manage to do that? Maybe paying in a dodgy place or website?
I’m asking because everybody knows of someone which knows someone who had that very experience but I don’t find someone which can speak about that, first person, often :-)
After the recent news about cardreaders being hacked, I don’t know if that’s related…
No idea how it happened frankly.
I am guessing a website was not as secure as I thought it was.
This happened to me a year or so ago, whilst responding to a website advert for outdoor clothing. My wife liked a pair of Solar Dry trousers, at a greatly reduced price (should I have smelt a disinigrating rat beneath the floorboards?)
I duly set to purchase pair of these trews for her and a day later had several concerning debits whilst checking my on-line banking account.
It would seem someone had completely replicated a well known and respected companies website, with the intent to defraud anyone taken in by it.
Definately, my account had been compromise by someone and they generally start-off by making a small test purchase on an compamy. Mine was for a small amount at a Radio Shack store in Texas US of A. I live in Cambridgeshire.
Other transactions soon followed, but fortunately and probably luckily, my own bank Barclays were able to pick-up abnormal transactions.
Thankfully, everything turned out fine, except that my debit card was cancelled and I had to wait around four days for a replacement and then change all my transaction details with D.D’s etc.
This is now a big concerning worry with major banks and their customers and the crafty bastards will keep trying and perhaps get even better at their subtifuge. It goes on and on and on.
Be Aware and Be Warned – I say so!
Nigel