al qaeda trying to scam me?

NeptunesMoon

got a call from fraud dpt of my bank the other day basically i have my bank acc details (just acc number and sort code) on my website and somebody in the uk handed in a fake cheque in name of "business name and co" with my acc number at the bottom. fortunately the bank acc is in my own name, not business name and they put a £ symbol in fron which the bank don't issue £ cheques so they copped it. it was apparantly really authentic looking and these were the only give aways.

the lady gave the name of the guy who lodged it (he tried lodge it in his sainsbury uk acc) said even the name would give rise to suspision and that I should report it to the garda just incase im ever linked with anything they have record of it and when I googled his name, the only 2 results that came up were related to al qaeda :eek:

i also have my address on the website so just a little bit worried. i dont want one simple fraudster to jeopardise my business and make me have to take things down off my site especially when no damage was done. just a bit worried about it.

cheers for any help

BuffyBot

Somehow I highly doubt it's Al-Qaeda...

I doubt they're much for using their real names when performing small-time fraud.

Obviously they've got your details from the website and tried to forge a cheque using them. You might want to consider how much information you put on the site. While the account number/sort-code alone isn't a lot, ask yourself does it need to be there, or can you provide it to people on request?

jimoc

NeptunesMoon wrote: »

got a call from fraud dpt of my bank the other day basically i have my bank acc details (just acc number and sort code) on my website and somebody in the uk handed in a fake cheque in name of "business name and co" with my acc number at the bottom. fortunately the bank acc is in my own name, not business name and they put a £ symbol in fron which the bank don't issue £ cheques so they copped it. it was apparantly really authentic looking and these were the only give aways.

the lady gave the name of the guy who lodged it (he tried lodge it in his sainsbury uk acc) said even the name would give rise to suspision and that I should report it to the garda just incase im ever linked with anything they have record of it and when I googled his name, the only 2 results that came up were related to al qaeda :eek:

i also have my address on the website so just a little bit worried. i dont want one simple fraudster to jeopardise my business and make me have to take things down off my site especially when no damage was done. just a bit worried about it.

cheers for any help

What I've highlighted above is enough for anyone to set up a direct debit over the phone in England (and probably here as well??) so you might want to remove them from public view and also ask your bank not to setup any DDs on your account without your written approval.

VB1962

Firstly, the Bank will report this to the relevant Fraud Authority (Garda Harcourt Square or wherever.) You could also separately report this incident to your local Garda Station if you feel concerned that somebody is targetting you or your business.

Bank Account details are readily available - they are on every cheque and most business addresses can be readily found.

The al-qaeda link wouldn't worry me too much - as Buffybot mentioned I doubt its anything serious.

As for setting up Direct Debits and such on the phone etc -scaremongering at best - nobody (repeat NOBODY) can just come along and debit your bank account without your express permission. Anybody who has the capability of setting up debiting arrangements on a bank account must provide certain sureties and indemnities whereby legitimate denials of a charge must be refunded within a certain timeframe. Its just not as simple as somebody charging your account whatever they desire - they gotta have the customer's approval for this.

Now for the defence against al-qaeda and all others getting to your hard earned money - difficult as it may be to look -check your bank account regularly - minimum weekly - and if any transactions appear that you don't recognise then query them immediately with your bank / credit card company. Spurious transactions should be immediately refuted in writing and your bank will sort it out within agreed timeframes.

I'm not saying you can be absolutely protected from attempts to defraud you but with vigilance you can be sure of no financial loss.


This is about others trying to access your bank account without your permission - not about when you give them permission unwittingly.

Hope this helps

jimoc

VB1962 wrote: »

As for setting up Direct Debits and such on the phone etc -scaremongering at best - nobody (repeat NOBODY) can just come along and debit your bank account without your express permission.

Not quite true :

Usually, the customer has to sign a direct debit form, although some particularly trusted originators are authorised to set up direct debits where the customer has given authority over the phone. If that sounds a little risky, remember that the originator must have obtained the bank account details from the customer – and that the customer is protected by the direct debit guarantee.

taken from http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/38/standing-orders-direct-debits-38.htm which was just the first search result that came back.

Now its very highly unlikely that a scammer or fraudster would have the ability to become a 'trusted originator', but considering the sophistication of some of the scams out there at the moment, its not completely beyond the bounds of possibility.

I'm fairly certain it can't be done to an Irish bank account, but you could contact your bank just to be sure that its not possible.

Dont be at yourself

Reminds me a little of:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7174760.stm

VB1962

I didn't say that fraudsters would not try to take money - of course they will - but your Bank cannot just uphold a debit on your account without your permission - just watch your account and refute in writing anything you've not authorised - it is as simple as that.