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I got an automated voicemail on my mobile this morning saying it was from Natwest Group Security & Fraud Department telling to call a number. I thought it was a scam at first but contacted them on the usual Customer Services number and alas there had been fraudlent use of my Maestro debit card.

They had cloned the magnetic stripe and obtained by PIN using a skimming device on a cash machine. The fraudsters had used my bank account to treat themself to a £460 SIM free mobile phone from Carphone Warehouse, a laptop, designer clothes, jewellery etc. What I am I really annoyed about is I actually know when my card was cloned and even contacted my bank about it.  I used my card in a HSBC cash machine that was at a petrol station. The guy in front of me was acting really suspicious and when I tried to withdraw cash it accepted by PIN and said it was dispensing my cash but didn't. I contacted Natwest 20 minutes later and the person I spoke to you didn't seem that interested and when I expressed my concerns that I thought the machine had been tampered with and I was the victim of card skimming they just said that if there is no debit from my account for that cash withdrawal everything is fine.

I just thought I'd share my experiences because I never thought it would happen to me. Just to remind people to be on their guard when using cash machines.

DistortedVision:

I got an automated voicemail on my mobile this morning saying it was from Natwest Group Security & Fraud Department telling to call a number. I thought it was a scam at first but contacted them on the usual Customer Services number and alas there had been fraudlent use of my Maestro debit card.

They had cloned the magnetic stripe and obtained by PIN using a skimming device on a cash machine. The fraudsters had used my bank account to treat themself to a £460 SIM free mobile phone, designer clothes, jewellery etc. What I am I really annoyed about is I actually know when my card was cloned and even contacted my bank about it.  I used my card in a HSBC cash machine that was at a petrol station. The guy in front of me was acting really suspicious and when I tried to withdraw cash it accepted by PIN and said it was dispensing my cash but didn't. I contacted Natwest 20 minutes later and the person I spoke to you didn't seem that interested and when I expressed my concerns that I thought the machine had been tampered with and I was the victim of card skimming they just said that if there is no debit from my account for that cash withdrawal everything is fine.

I just thought I'd share my experiences because I never thought it would happen to me. Just to remind people to be on their guard when using cash machines.

I'm sorry to hear that - it happened to us a few months ago.

We had a phone call from the bank on a Sunday morning and they asked whether we had been to Toronto?

We haven't ventured any further than South London.

Something has to be done because it's becoming a more common feature. We were lucky (comparatively speaking), we only had a couple of hundred taken, whereas others have had thousands taken. . .As you can image the disdain we have for these people is, well, can't really use the appropriate words on the forum.

Good luck 

That's appalling (in both cases).

Don't settle for anything less than full recompense from your bank, DV - for starters, ask them to call up their records and it'll show you made that call to report the cash-machine issue.They left you open to this exposure.

Escalate it to the highest level at the bank, and use the financial equivalents of ourselves to take up your case if you get no joy - the money pages of The Guardian/Observer run excellent consumer service, for example. 

Let us know how you get on, and  sorry that some selfish ******s have put you through this misery.

Thanks for the advice and moral support Clare! I'm going to make a formal complaint and I'm genuinely surprised because I've been with Natwest all my life and have found them to be excellent.

I've only been victim of fraud once before. I sold a brand new sealed Nakamichi headunit on eBay and the person paid for it using Paypal but with stolen / fraudlent credit card. There was a chargeback and Paypal said they were going to hold me liable. I actually visited the guy's address because it wasn't far from me but he was long gone. The management company of the building told me he was under investigation by the Police for lots of things including credit card fraud. I contacted the officier at Longsight CID, Manchester and she contacted Paypal for the details and a list of all his victims. They declined and told her that they would absorb the losses. A few weeks later I got a letter from a Debt Collection Agency trying to retrieve the money. I refused to pay and it went on for about a year and they instructed a second DCA before giving up.

I guess the moral of that story is only accept Paypal payments from verified addresses with confirmed accounts which I insist on now.

We've been fully reimbursed. We also found out it was cloned either from our local petrol station or the supermarket.

I contacted their head office and they started a full investigation, and they dealt with it "in-house." What's laughable is the supermarket sent us a £5.00 voucher for our distress.

The whole episode makes you feel violated and you are scared to even think about using your debit card.

That is terrible.

I hope the bank does the right thing!

If the bank doesn't do the right thing you need to tell them you're going to approach the Banking Ombudsman asking them to take up your case.

As I understand it (from a friend in the banking industry) the Ombudsman charges the bank £400 to investigate (no charge to the account holder) and in most cases this could be enough to get the bank to do the right thing.

Having said that I'm sure you're bank will sort everything out without needing to involve a third party.

I cannot believe it!

 

i was in bed just about to nod off to sleep when i though hey ill log into what hi fi on my iphone and see whats going on in the forums and i stumble across this post.

i read it and think, man thats terrible, and then i start getting paranoid,so i turn on my computer and i log into my online banking and no joke my credit card charge had increased by 1000pounds! strange i though then i saw the statement! 400pounds in vermont!! and 600pounds in london on a hotel and i stay in glasgow!!

i have never been so annoyed in my life!

im currently saving for a house, and have some decent savings on my debit card, im so relieved that my credit card was stung, i know that may sound weird to say, but at least i will get it back on the credit card.

 

I would however like to thank what hi fi forums for existing and the original poster and the people who kept in as one of the hot current topics, otherwise i could have went days without checking.

 

thank you so much.

 

the hoss

Hi thehoss,

 I'm really sorry to hear that you've been a victim of credit card fraud too. I'm glad I was able to help at least one person.

Natwest have told me that all the money that was fraudlent taken out of my account will be refunded but I don't know how long its going to take. They still have to complete an investigation and a report which I have to provide information for. I'm still going to be making a complaint because I made them fully aware just 20 minutes after I was victim of card skimming.

I hope your credit card sort it all out for you as quickly as possible.

my bank (lloyds tsb) said that they would refund the money after 5 working days and then i would have to sign a declaration stating i know nothing about the transactions.

and then they would start the investigation.

 

thanks again

My friend's card got clone in a big name supermarket!  Since then she now go back to the good old day of Chq and cash. 

Yes, I'm sorry to hear that. It happened twice to me in the space of 6 months. First time in a petrol station. They where found out as it happened to a load of people over a period of time. Big media huha and convictions. Apparently my money supported the Tamil Tigers ... I would like to know what hardware I've invested in ... . Second time I can only guess, in an indian take away. Now I just don't trust the buggers anymore and I pay cash.

Both instances my bank reacted quick and I was re-imbursed within a week.

My current account card was cloned 6 years ago on holiday in Menorca. I remember a chap asking me if I had dropped some money in the que at the cash point.
After a few weeks I received my statement and found that £200 a day was being taken out by various cash points in Alicante, amounted to over 3k. What was annoying was I only have one card registered but I was taking money out also on some of the days in the UK. But wasn't flagged up by the bank. I did get all the money back though.

A different situation this year. My misses used her card to buy some items last xmas on the internet. Around March time money was comming out from various internet gambling sites. We can only assume that it was from buying from this well known site where the details were taken from because anything bought on the internet I believe requires the secret 3 digit pin,can this be copied from a clone?