Identity Theft - Fraudster Taking Out Car Insurance With Several Companies

[MWG14]

A fraudster stole my identity last week. The crime came to light when Barclaycard alerted me to five fraudulent transactions on my credit card, all in the space of an hour, to car insurance companies.

This is now being sorted out by Barclaycard, Action Fraud and the insurance companies concerned.

What I would like to know is why did the criminal set up five different car insurance policies? What did he or she have to gain?

[Buenchico]

The fraudsters make use of the statutory 14-day cooling off period which applies to insurance policies. They cancel the policies they've taken out but seek refunds to accounts controlled by them, rather than to the account from which the payment was made.

[MWG14]

Actually the policies were cancelled by the insurance companies when Barclaycard reclaimed the premiums to reimburse me. They then wanted to charge me for cancelling those policies.

[ladybirder]

Chris I thought any refund amount was always paid into the account from which it came. No?

[Buenchico]

It's not compulsory, LB. The fraudsters must be able to find a way of getting the money paid to a different account.

If you cancel an insurance policy within the statutory cooling off period the insurer must refund your money (less any reasonable admin charges). They don't have the right to say how that refund will be paid.

[ladybirder]

OK thanks Chris. Must be different from returning something to a shop as I'm always asked for the card I used to buy said item.
MWG do you know how your identity got stolen? It happened to me and I never found out.

[MWG14]

I have absolutely no idea. It is a complete mystery.

[ladybirder]

Hmmm I wonder if Barclaycard know and don't tell us or whether they don't know either.

[Peter Pedant]

wondering how they did it?
spend you time much better by looking at;

https://www.cifas.org.uk/services/identity-protection/protective-registration

it is god guys register where it says you have been cloned....
makes it difficult to take out loans - extra checks involved
which I found useful
second time round
identity theft no 2 was a less of shock to the system
sort of o bloody hell not again
rather than eek !

[Peter Pedant]

we thought ours was a dissatisfied ex tenant
I mean one company said - "o we have four in your name - we should have spotted that !"

but if you read the thread on opened letters
you will see that the whole of the sector where I live seems to be in a permanent thrutch of embezzlement

[bednobs]

"Must be different from returning something to a shop as I'm always asked for the card I used to buy said item. " but if you give them a different card they dont care/dont know

[ladybirder]

I'll have to try it and see what happens bednobs. I know Waitrose asked me for my card number ending in **** last time I did it.

[Arrods]

Fraudsters used to take out several policies on one written-off car and claim several times for the same theft/total loss. That loophole has now effectively been closed off.

[MWG14]

Hastings, one of the companies involved, has now registered my details with CIFAS.

I am always very careful with my data. I shread anything with my name/address on it before throwing it away and that sort of thing. I have a call blocking telephone to weed out any dodgy calls, never open links in odd-looking emails and so-on. I don’t live in a flat with a communal letterbox.

[fiction-factory]

They don't need to steal your whole identity- they just got access to your Barclaycard security details or had a cloned version of your card. It happened to one of mine which I only used for online purchases and neve left my possession - then someone went on a spending spree with my account one evening hundreds of miles away. I got it all back. The credit card company would not give any info/engage in any conversation on how it happened and made no suggestions on how to stop it happening again