Nationwide fraud

[potiche]

My elderly father got a from Nationwide asking him to contact them. £3k had been taken from his account over a week, the bank had identified the recipient as fraudulent so put a stop on the account. They repaid the £3K to my father immediately.
That all sounds commendable and he is of course relieved not to be out of pocket. However, he always uses counter service has never used his card in a swipe machine or an ATM and the only explanation that Nationwide could offer him when he asked how this fraud had happened would have involved these card activities. Because of this and the fact that they repaid the money instantly, I'm convinced this has been caused by a breach in Nationwide's security, i.e. nothing to do with my father.
Any advice? Can we expect a credible explanation from Nationwide?
Poor man is now understandably anxious and planning to cut his banking activities to a bare minimum which will make life more difficult for him. I made 2 purchases by phone recently on his behalf to JohnLewis and M&S direct so I'm feeling guilty in case that has been the cause but these shouldn't have been dodgy transactions..

[factor-fiction]

Based on what you say it seems to me that Nationwide's explanation seems odd. They would know if the withdrawals had been made from a cash machine (unlikely) or if a purchase had been made via a swipe machine which needs a PIN.

Possible explanations are that someone made a purchase by phone/internet using his sort code and account number (easily found info- e.g. written on a cheque), someone set up a fraudulent online payment or completed a standing order form using his details. And it's not impossible that there was misuse of the data from the telephone purchases you made. Or maybe your dad inadvertently gave details to someone over the phone.

If he wants to know he should ask the bank for a description of what the transaction was- they should know who the payee was. However, odd as it may sound, they may not be able to give details about the purchase because it breaches the confidentiality of the fraudster. I had this problem after I think someone cloned by credit card in Hong Kong - items appeared on my statement and although they refunded me they wouldn't tell me anything about how the transactions were made because of 'customer confidentiality/data protection'.

[hc4361]

The bank is not obliged to give your dad details - he is not the victim of this fraud, the bank is.
It has been known for some dishonest account holders to defraud their own banks by aiding a third party in wrongful use of the account. I am not suggesting this is the case here, by the way.
No doubt the police have been informed.

[Maydup]

Same thing happened to me with Nationwide a cople of years ago. I didn't lose a penny but neither did I everknow what had happened.

The touble was I was about to go on holiday and they'd put a stop on all my cards until they'd sent new ones, I had a right game sorting it all out ont he wa to the airport!

I hadn't and have not since used any of my cards anywhere other than a Nationwide branch, a major supermarket or a secure website. I use cash for all local purchases and at garages and restaurants.

I understand how your father feels especially as he hasn't used his card at all, but I'm told the fraudsters use computer programmes to process random numbers until they hit upon a combination whihc is actually a real card number. They are often abroad and this time they hit on his.

It happened to my sister the following week -different surnames, different banks, but has never happened to either of us since - touch wood.

Try not o feel guilty, you've not cause this. Its happening all around us but for obvious reasons the banks are not giving it too much publicity.