After a tough week in the office Mrs W
opened her front door to be greeted by a ringing phone.
It was a woman from the phone company wanting to update
the security details on her account. ‘It really won’t
take a moment, madam.’ The caller read out her account
number and asked her to verify her date of birth and mothers
maiden name. Hanging up, Mrs W thought no more about it.
A week later she went to get some cash, but the machine
refused. Looking at a statement she found that £5000
had been transferred from her account. Assuming it was
the bank’s error, she called them.
She discovered that someone had spoken to her bank claiming
to be her. Her account had a password, but the caller said
she couldn’t remember it. However, she gave Mrs W’s
date of birth and mother’s maiden name. That was
enough to gain access. The caller transferred the money
out, and then changed all the security details – Mrs
W no longer had control of her own account.
But the real horror unfolded over the next few months.
Mrs W received a County Court summons for recovery of debts
to a loan company totalling over £25,000. She was
chased by two finance companies that claimed she had taken
out hire purchase agreements for a car and some furniture
and discovered that her name was on a credit blacklist.
It took Mrs W two years to prove her innocence, restore
her credit rating and regain her good name. That one phone
call cost her nearly £8000.
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