Conmen Calling From A Number That Mimics That Of Their Bank

[Raistlin]

Conmen are targeting bank customers with a terrifying telephone scam only previously seen in the U.S.

This latest deception is known as number spoofing because crooks call customers using a phone number which mimics that of their bank.They do this using a device which can copy any number even if the one they are calling from is entirely different.

So, when a victim receives a call on their mobile, or home phone if they have one which has a screen showing incoming call details, the number of their bank will flash up on the display.

Anyone suspicious about the legitimacy of who is phoning will be told to look at the number printed on the back of the debit card issued by their bank. This will match the one showing on the phone.

The caller often knows other details about the victim typically their full name and address, date of birth and, occasionally, the last four digits of their debit card.

While some of this information is publicly available, its possible the details have been obtained from criminals on the internet.

Armed with this information, and having given them a false sense of security by mimicking the banks phone number, they will trick the victim in to revealing other details about their account usually their online banking passwords.

The criminals are then able to hack in to the persons account and transfer their savings out. Money Mail learnt of the scam after being contacted by a reader who lost £10,000.

The woman, who we have agreed to keep anonymous, received a call from a man saying he was from her bank, Barclays. He told the 45-year-old IT worker that they were worried about fraudulent activity on her account.

The woman became suspicious after being asked for two digits of her internet banking password. So, she asked how she could tell the man was really from Barclays. He told her to look at the phone number on the back of her debit card and then compare it to the one showing up on her phone. It was identical.

This, along with the other information, was enough to convince her the caller was genuine. But after the call ended she discovered a huge sum had been transferred out of her account. Barclays has since refunded the money.

Phone watchdog Ofcom has joined forced with regulators in the U.S. and Canada to crack down on this scam and has launched an investigation in to the cases in the UK. But it is struggling to track down criminals who are often based overseas.

Figures from credit reference firm Experian show banking and internet fraud has jumped by more than a third in just one year, to 12,740 cases. The average amount being snatched by criminals has also increased from £695 to £884.

What is particularly alarming about number spoofing is how easy it is to do. We discovered that anyone could sign up to use technology which would change their phone number for as little as £20 a month.

Largely, this technology is used by call centres which want to give the impression they are based in a certain area. But fraudsters are also buying scripts from call centres in order to make themselves sound more genuine. And the new fraud comes just as banks are trying to crack down on a similar scam called courier fraud.

This has become a major crimewave involving gangs who pose as police officers and telephone people, generally the elderly, at home. They enlist their targets in what they claim is an investigation into theft by bank workers and convince them to withdraw cash which is then collected by a courier.

In a cruel trick, anyone who becomes suspicious of the phone call is told to ring their bank or the police. But what they dont know is that the criminals can stay on the line, as it is left open after the initial call.

So the victim thinks they have dialled a legitimate organisation but are really still speaking to the conmen.

Verena Aslett, 70, from West London, who is a Barclays customer, has lost £11,000 to the bogus police fraudsters. She was telephoned by a man who said he was a detective and warned that her bank card had been cloned and used by thieves.

On two occasions she rang 999 after the call but was told the initial warning was legitimate. Over two days in the week before Christmas she was convinced to take out three sums of money, adding up to £11,000, which put her account into overdraft. She then handed the cash over to a courier.

Realising she had been duped, Mrs Aslett told Barclays. But it has refused to give her compensation. This is because, by the letter of the law, the customer has authorised the transaction by going to the bank and withdrawing the money themselves.

A spokesman says: Barclays strives to put customers interests at the forefront of what we do and protecting our customers and ourselves against fraudsters is a key priority.

There was no bank error regarding the withdrawal and we are unable to refund the customer. On the number spoofing case the bank adds: Barclays will never ask a customer to reveal their passwords and pins when we make contact.

If you are suspicious of a caller or uncomfortable about their request, end the call. As fraudsters can keep the phone line open by not putting down the receiver at their end phone someone you know and trust first to ensure the line is clear.

Then telephone your bank using a known number displayed on the back of a debit/credit card or bank statement, or alternatively visit any Barclays branch.