As a retired teacher Margaret Wilkinson is not the sort of person to
take chances with money, so when she moved home she did everything
right. But that wasn't enough to prevent the theft of £250,000 from
her bank account. Phillip Inman reports
Saturday October 22, 2005
The Guardian
Margaret Wilkinson is scrupulously careful with her money. She
closely guards her banking details and shreds letters and
correspondence before throwing them away. In May, Margaret, a 59-year-
old retired teacher, sold her north London home and placed £250,000
in a Lloyds TSB savings account.
Just three weeks ago her offer on a new home in Surrey was accepted
and she went to transfer the money.
Only then did she discover that the whole lot had been stolen from
her account in one of the most serious cases yet documented of ID
fraud.
Identity theft is a crime that many see as raging out of control,
with more than £1bn stolen every year.
The banks say they are cracking down, but their claims ring hollow
with Mrs Wilkinson (not her real name) who says the loss has made her
physically ill. She is also furious at the lack of information given
to her by Lloyds TSB.
She says she was treated in a shabby and offhand manner by the bank,
which initially refused to answer questions about how the fraud took
place.
Only after making her own enquiries has she discovered that an ID
crook used a forged signature to transfer the money into another bank
account.
She says: "The bank was so offhand it was unbelievable. And the more
I found out, the more horrified I became. The money had been taken
out using a single banker's order from a branch I hadn't visited in
10 years.
"They used a fake British passport. I have an Irish passport. And
when I went back to my local branch to open another account - because
no other bank would have me - they showed me the signature used by
the people who stole my money. There were digital images of two
signatures, one was mine and the other definitely wasn't."
Eventually Lloyds TSB informed her she was the victim of a
sophisticated fraud and it would be tracing the money. In the
meantime, the bank has put the cash back into her account.
A spokeswoman for Lloyds TSB says: "We understand that the customer
in this case must be frustrated at the lack of information. We would
like to be able to discuss the case, but there is an ongoing police
investigation and an internal investigation. Under the circumstances,
there is only a limited amount we can say."
But Mrs Wilkinson remains mystified how the ID theft took place,
given the care she takes with her personal identity. "I had read
about ID fraud and for the last couple of years I have been shredding
all the letters and correspondence I throw away. It was a deposit
account that had annual statements. The bank simply won't talk to me
about it."
To add insult to injury, the theft means her credit rating is
destroyed and when she tried to open an account at another bank, she
was refused. Lloyds TSB says it will now contact her to help restore
her credit rating.
The news of Mrs Wilkinson's shocking loss comes amid growing official
concern over ID fraud, which the Home Office estimates costs British
business £1.3bn a year. The Metropolitan Police and credit reference
agencies Experian and Equifax, have joined forces to launch "ID Fraud
Awareness Week" which starts on Monday.
Officials want the public to be more aware of how ID fraud takes
place, and want us all to take more care when disposing of personal
information. But an "awareness week" may be unnecessary; research
published this week shows that the public fear becoming a victim of
identity fraud more than pick-pocketing, muggings or even burglary.
The research follows a study of "bin raiding" which revealed three-
quarters of household waste contained at least one or more items that
could assist fraudsters in stealing an identity.
Paul Carratu, president of the Association of Certified Fraud
Examiners, says banks are under increasing pressure from customers to
explain discrepancies in statements and letters that could result
from fraudulent activity. "The banks are paranoid about this. Their
customers are checking statements more then they ever did, and things
the banks used to get away with - clerical errors, computer errors
and fraudulent activity which they would quickly clean up - they
can't get away with any more. Some are setting aside dedicated areas
of their call centres to handle enquiries," he says.
Mr Carratu, also managing director of security firm Carratu
International, says he has never seen a fraudster adopting a
completely new identity. "You often just need a couple of pieces of
key information to get away with fraud."
Anti-fraud measures taken by the banks have been criticised by
several experts. Last month criminologist Emily Finch, of the
University of East Anglia, told the British Association for the
Advancement of Science that she and a colleague interviewed credit
card criminals and discovered flaws in the chip and pin protection
for debit transactions that would undermine their effectiveness in
years to come.
Banks have also been criticised for increased use of temporary staff
as a cost-cutting measure. Critics say casual staff have little
understanding of anti fraud measures. In the summer, banks were
forced to tighten security after a ring of Indian call centre workers
was exposed for selling private information from UK bank accounts.
The Sun newspaper reported that "a Delhi-based computer expert", was
buying the pin and credit card numbers, private addresses and
passport details of British account holders from call centre
employees, then selling them to would-be identity thieves.
Lloyds TSB said at the time: "We have strict procedures in those call
centres ... they should not have access to information like passport
details and bank passwords ... so we are investigating how this
happened. The first we heard about it was when we were contacted by
City of London police. We are taking the allegations very seriously."
Lloyds TSB has since hired the senior police officer at City of
London police in charge of fraud investigations, Ken Farrow, as its
head of fraud.
Ros Wright, the former head of the Serious Fraud Office, says: "These
kind of crimes are much more common than the banks would like us to
think. There is still a culture that tends to keep fraud hidden. In
my view, Lloyds TSB isn't worse than any other bank."
Ms Wright, who now heads the private sector sponsored Fraud Advisory
Panel, adds: "Banks can conduct an audit trail and should, at some
point, be in a position to tell customers what happened to their
money."
They are also required to inform the National Criminal Intelligence
Service, which collates information about suspicious transactions in
the banking system, though its work is kept confidential.
What you can do
· Check your credit file regularly. Reports cost from £2. Visit three
main providers - experian.co.uk, equifax.co.uk, callcredit.co.uk
· Buy a shredder to destroy any documents containing personal data.
· Sign up to the Mail Preference Service at mpsonline.org.uk to cut
out junk mail. Register with CIFAS fraudprevention service at
cifas.org.uk
· Only give card and address details over the phone to companies you
trust. Never disclose your Pin.
· Read bank and credit card statements thoroughly.
· If you are moving, put away all personal details during house
viewings. Remember to inform every finance company you use. Arrange
for Royal Mail to forward post.
· Report the loss or theft of personal documents immediately.
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