Hanging on the telephone ? UK cardholders caught up in phone and courier bank card scam

I have a long held practice of not taking unsolicited calls from any organisation whether I am an existing customer or not. My methods range from sticking the phone in front of the radio and leaving it there, trying to order a takeaway meal from the caller, giving the phone to my children and telling them Santa is on the phone or making a high-pitched noise. (Believe me, it works, British Gas have totally given up now!) Sometimes, I even pretend to be the cleaner or the nanny. As entertaining as this may be for me and my children, it looks like I am reaping the added benefit of  stopping myself from becoming a victim of fraud.

The Payments Council have warned of an old-style scam that sees victims conned into handing over their bank cards and PIN details to couriers.

They have advised that the practice netted fraudsters £750,000 in the first four months of 2012, the same amount as for the whole of last year.

The scam involves a fraudster calling a cardholder, claiming to be from their bank and telling them that their debit or credit card needs replacing and collecting following a fraud on their account.

The criminal then asks the person to read out or key in his or her pin number, before sending a courier to collect the card. The victim is told the card is going to the bank to be changed, but it is actually delivered to the fraudster to use along with the pin obtained during the scam.

To make sure they maximise the amount they can steal from the victim's account, the fraudsters advise the victim to disconnect their telephone line. This prevents the card-issuing bank from being able to contact the cardholder to check transactions are genuine.

The fraudster suggests the victim hangs up in order to call the bank back and ensure the call is genuine. However, the fraudster stays on the line, keeping it open. They then play a recording of a dial tone so that when the victim picks up their handset again they think they are really calling their bank.

To make sure they maximise the amount they can steal from the victim's account, the fraudsters advise the victim to disconnect their telephone line. This prevents the card-issuing bank from being able to contact the cardholder to check transactions are genuine.

DCI Paul Barnard, head of the bank-sponsored Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit – the specialist police unit that tackles UK card and cheque fraud – said: "Many of us feel confident we can spot fraudsters, but this type of crime can be sophisticated and could happen to anyone.

"If you become a victim of this type of crime, you should contact your bank in the first instance. If you have friends or relatives who you feel may be vulnerable to this, please help them to be more aware of the potential risks and what to look out for. Remember, if you are the innocent victim of card fraud you will not suffer any financial loss."

Meanwhile, a survey of 4000 people from the Council's Pay Your Way education campaign shows that while three quarters feel confident they would be able to spot a fraudulent telephone banking call, that certainty crumbles when the scam is explained.

Over half are surprised by how sophisticated it is, one third are worried they are more vulnerable than they thought and 80% feel that anyone could be a potential victim to the fraud.

It’s time to think of some more ways to keep us entertained with our outbound call centre friends – got any more ideas ?   

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