Please Help - Money appeared in my Bank Account

Hi Skidrow,

They should be able to tell you who the cheque was from too and unless it was a blank cheque it would have your name on it too, which is weird. Many of these drop in boxes are in branch too so it would be on film.

I am pretty sure you are covered for more than £500 if there it is a scam, it is their job to keep your money safe. Unless of course you have been negligent.

I can't see how this scam would work, the only thing I can think of is that the cheques are stolen and the person who deposited it will come after you for the cash.

I know Abbey had problems over the weekend with the business banking system and this might be the root cause - a system error, but the fact that your details are on the envelope would suggest this is not the case. Very strange, you could open a new account with the Abbey and close that one - at least all your details would change.

Are you sure you don't have a secret benefactor or someone in the family who has some into some money and does not want to shout about it..

Tony

It is all very strange for sure and worrying for you, not sure what to say but would be really interested to know what happened when you manage to get to the bottom of it

Cheers,

Tony

Hi

I am no expert on this, but to me this sounds very much like a case of attempted money laundering or fraud.

I am assuming someone has got your bank details and has paid the money in in the hope that it would clear before you noticed, so they could then withdraw the money, probably in cash so that it was not traceable.

As you say, I am guessing the chequebook used to pay in the cheques was stolen or fraudulently obtained.

Of course this is illegal and I am baffled as to why the Abbey are not doing more to prevent the person withdrawing the money... If you are telling them that the money is not yours, then you are not bothered if the cheques fail to go through and to me, that should be reason enough to close the account.

I hope this gets sorted quickly so you are not stressing about it. And don't worry too much about being liable for the money. I don't know where the "up to £500" comes from, but my account was fraudulently used a few months back and £900 removed from it. I received it back less than 2 days later after reporting it and no costs were incurred by me, but that was with the HSBC.

Let us know what happens.

How absolutely fascinating - and horrible for you of course, but I've never heard of such a thing. So presumably whoever paid the cheques into your account was planning to withdraw the money once it had been suitably "laundered" - but how would they have done that? They would have had to have known your internet banking details, wouldn't they?

All very interesting but glad it appears to have been sorted.

Thanks for the update skidrow. I took all my money out of the Abbey just before they de-mutualised : (

Glagowgirl, I think it works like this :-

You obtain a chequebook, either stolen from someone or from intercepting their post. Usually the victim is targetted because it is known they have a "few bob" in their account.

Then you have to gain access to someone's account. Again these are hacked and sold on by criminals. They will provide you with the acc no, sort code, pin and sometimes even a cloned card for the account.

You then write cheques for £X amount and pay them into the fraudulent account via an automated pay system. This is because the automated system obviously won't immediately notice the fraud and credits the account with the money more quickly.

You then wait until the cheques clear and using the fraudulent bank card spend the next few days going around the automated machines withdrawing as much of the money as they can to the cards limit each day, or by using online services to move the money into a different account. (When my card was cloned and my account hacked it all went into a betting company). Once the money is in an account like this they can then withdraw it to a new account, close the betting account immediately and that is how they get their money.

The trick is that you use automated services as much as possible as there is less chance of being spotted by someone and of course it is anonymous.

The good news is almost all banks are well onto this now and while Card cloning is still a problem, they do deal with it very quickly once you've noted it and reported it.

Oh and I know this because my mum and sister work in a bank, and not because I've tried it out!

Wow, I wouldn't have thought that would be possible - something new to worry about! I got quite jumpy this evening when I paid for a meal by Visa debit card and they didn't have a chip and pin machine - they took my card away to process it, and I really disliked it being out of my sight. I'm sure it's fine, but I'll be keeping an eye on my account for the next wee while!

The same thing is now happening to me....

Exactly the same thing has happened to me just today, which is why I've been googling this stuff. I went to log on to my online banking with Abbey and couldnt, they told me that my password had been changed just hours before and also that i had a cheque for over 17 thousand pound waiting to be cleared into my account from about 250miles away! Now I know deep down that this is some sort of money laudring and obviously who ever posted the cheque wants to take it out at some point. The guy i was talking to just told me to enjoy it and cancelled my online banking and cards etc, sending me new details. However I'm very paranoid that the person who's money it is know's where me and my family live and will at some point come looking for their money! Esp when they see I've changed all my details. The bank have assured me that they cant get to my money now unless they have my passport/drivers liscence/birth certificate. However the cheque will clear on the 8th of Jan and I'm scared about who's looking for their money! Its not exactly petty change! I couldnt call the fraud people today as the phone line closed at 5, typical. So I'm going to have to wait until morning a let them know, I'm just suprised to see in your case that the police werent involed. This is a lot of money and there must be a very organised criminal at the end of it! Of course there is a tiny part of me that hopes the fraud people will thank me for being so honest and let me keep the money ^_^ hehe

Same thing same bank

I have just had a cheque for £6000 sent to me from the Abbey national London. sayin they can not pay it in as it would breach my contract. Upon checking my online account there is also another cheque been paid in for £3000. I contacted the bank and they have no intrest but froze my account. I called Barclaysan advised them of the cheque i have yet again no interest. what should i do with the cheque ect??? HELP!!!!!!!!!

This seems to be becoming quite common. I am surprised I haven't seen it in the news, but if I were you Mace2009 and eaaboo I would report it to the police.

Tony

2 4 6 scheme

I think that under the 2 4 6 scheme after transaction day plus 6 all monies now in your account are yours, and if a cheque is then found fraundulent then the Bank "covers" this and they take the loss, however I wouldn't reccomend this course of action as it's open to "interpretation" and in itself most possibly fraudulent/illegial and you also might subsequently get a bad credit rating strike against you, consider the stress and worry of it all, however if you have told the bank in writing of your suspicions prior then I believe that you are covered.

duncanh777 said:

I think that under the 2 4 6 scheme after transaction day plus 6 all monies now in your account are yours, and if a cheque is then found fraundulent then the Bank "covers" this and they take the loss, however I wouldn't reccomend this course of action as it's open to "interpretation" and in itself most possibly fraudulent/illegial and you also might subsequently get a bad credit rating strike against you, consider the stress and worry of it all, however if you have told the bank in writing of your suspicions prior then I believe that you are covered.

Click to expand...

I have never heard of the 246 scheme - is this a secret banking procedure?

Tony

It's standard UK practice

No, Tony, it's standard UK Banking "practice", has been for years for the cheque clearing process, (but has changed a little in the last 2 years), I may be able to get "insider" info/statement in the next 3 days relating to this practice/scheme

keeep it & run!

Hiya. My problem sounds similar to others on this thread. I am in the process of opening an Alliance and Leicester current account. This is because we are changing to a better mortgage deal and having a premier current account means a better deal is offered (advice received from A and L mortgage adviser).
Just waiting for all account info to be sent to me but not received 5 digit pin for internet banking so haven't used the account, or registered card, or opened pin code. I was waiting to receive all the information before i did this. A couple of weeks ago received a letter from bank with copy of cheque attached for just over £4000 that had bounced as suspected fraudulant (later learnt that it was a stolen cheque) I knew nothing about this cheque,didn't recognise name on cheque and was extremely concerned that account had been compromised. Rang bank straight away (but no 5 digit pin so couldn't get through to customer service). Went directly to closed A and L branch and spoke to fraud dept on their phone to express concern. Fraud dept were not willing to close account, said they would investigate, asked me lots of questions (more or less accusing me of being involved) and said they woud get back in 2 -3 days. No response. Went to local branch 2 days later to enquire further. They guessed it must be a cashier error (at this stage I still didn't know cheque was stolen). Next day phoned mortgage adviser, she tried to look into it but couldn't really offer much help, just said again that probably cashier error. Couple of days later phoned A and L fraud dept back and they advised to put in writing that I had card in my possession (which I have). More than week went by, no reply. So today rang fraud dept again. Was told that this is a serious matter, police would probably be involved, did I accept any offers of cash via email scams, did i respond to any book keeping type work, who had been in my house that could have accessed information, think carefully and get back to us if there is something you want to tell us. They made me feel like a criminal, it was awful. On top of that the guy told me that a fraud marker would probably be placed on my account and the account closed. When i asked what this meant he said that i would find it extremely difficult to get credit. He said his colleague would call me back on Monday and she would advise if the fraud marker would be put on. There was honestly no concern for my feelings, just speaking to me as if I am guilty of an attempted fraud.
I tried to explain that i had come to them immediatey I knew about this as I feared identity theft and wanted help and reassurance, that i had actually contacted them a number of time for updates over the last 3 weeks and they had never called back when they said they would or answered the letter I sent. So I'm waiting till the call back on Monday to see what they say. I am extremely concerned that something else could happen to account in meantime if i am a victim of identity theft as bank account has not been closed (although the balance is nil)
Any ideas what might have happened here? I have not given out the account details to anyone, have only made one attempt to log onto account (this was when i realised i didn't have the 5 digit pin to comlete login). Nobody who is likely to steal bank information has been to the flat.
What should i do now. How do i prevent a fraud marker being put on account (my credit history is excellent as checked this out few days after i heard about suspected fraudulant cheque).
Thanks