Advice for parent on the receiving end of fraud

[shouldbeinbed]

She can put a notice of correction onto her credit records with Experian, Equifax etc detailing that she has been the victim.of fraud and offering up unique questions for credit checkers to ask if they wish to be certain it is her. I've found that mobile phone companies tend to be the most likely to get the jitters over my record for a few years after I had my identity stolen. The credit reference agencies themselves were very good with me and are well used to this sort of thing happening to people. Double check with the DVLA, mortgage providers and local household type goods stores for nice TVs etc bought on credit. Things have tightened up a lot since it happened to me but its a heck of an eye opener what suitably minded people can think of to try for when you see it all unravelled.

 

[classic33]

Meals at restraunts, theatre tickets.
But if all that has been done on the one account it does leave a trail. Even the new account will be traceable back to it, if it was used to verify who they were.

I signed over to Her Majesty's Custom & Excise an American pickup bought for $50,000+, which "I had" had shipped to the UK. If I'd taken delivery of it, anything found on or in it would be my responsibility. Nice truck as well.

 

[Pale Rider]

Simplifying her affairs would reduce risk in future.

Does an 80-year-old need a credit card?

Bin it, and there cannot be any more dodgy transfers.

Alternatively, insist the company put a realistic limit on it which cannot be broken.

My comfortably well off brother has a £1,000 limit on his card, although he said it was a struggle to persuade the provider to set the limit so low.

Happily, the bank was alert to the dodgy cheque in your mother's case, but should it not have bounced anyway?

In other words, does she need £4K+ lying around in a current account?

 

[Drago]

Can I report it on the website on her behalf?

yes, you can do it on her behalf. There's a ticket box on the form to indicate you're doing it in someone else's behalf.

Don't report it to the police unless there's evidence that the offenders are in the same local force area as your Mum as they'll just direct you to action fraud which is the national reporting scheme. They'll take the details, if they'll cross reference any information against other reports for matches that might be useful, and if there are avenues of investigation they'll task out the relevant local force to go do the legwork. They won't just sit on it.

 

[summerdays]

She can put a notice of correction onto her credit records with Experian, Equifax etc detailing that she has been the victim.of fraud and offering up unique questions for credit checkers to ask if they wish to be certain it is her. I've found that mobile phone companies tend to be the most likely to get the jitters over my record for a few years after I had my identity stolen. The credit reference agencies themselves were very good with me and are well used to this sort of thing happening to people. Double check with the DVLA, mortgage providers and local household type goods stores for nice TVs etc bought on credit. Things have tightened up a lot since it happened to me but its a heck of an eye opener what suitably minded people can think of to try for when you see it all unravelled.

I'll investigate that today, and let her know that she can add a note to the file/security questions.

 

[summerdays]

Thanks for all this information, at least I'm going to be a bit better informed to help her!