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Fraud victim's shock as other clients' details given to him

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Published Date: 18 March 2008
By GEMMA FRASER
FRAUD victim Andrew Jarvie got more than he bargained for when his bank sent him tips on how to avoid future scams.
In the same envelope that the information was sent, NatWest gave him all the details he needed to become a fraudster himself.

The bank provided him with confidential letters for two other customers who had also been the victims of fraud

The information included their names, addresses, account details and even mobile phone numbers – all the things Mr Jarvie had been told to protect.

The assistant planner for a city architect firm today said he was not surprised card fraud was on the rise. Mr Jarvie, 25, says he has completely lost faith in NatWest to deal with his money safely, and is now planning to close his account. He was due to meet his bank manager today to complain about the security breach.

He said: "It's not acceptable for them to send me out all this information asking me to make sure I protect my details, when they are obviously not doing everything they can to protect the details of their customers. I asked for a meeting with the manager because I'm not happy that this has happened."

Mr Jarvie's card details were used by fraudsters in Romania last month for two transactions totalling just under £500.

He went straight into his local branch on George Street to complain when he failed to recognise details of the purchases, but a month later he is still in talks with his bank about being reimbursed with the cash.

Mr Jarvie, from Meadowbank, said: "I wasn't guaranteed by any means that I would get the money back. The onus was on me being able to prove that I didn't spend the money, so it helped that I wasn't in Romania at the time.

"Most people I speak to either have been the victim of fraud or know someone it has happened to, and with banks giving out this sort of information then it's not a surprise really.

"I'm going to close my account with NatWest and go somewhere else. I don't feel like the process was dealt with to my satisfaction, and the final straw was getting these two letters sent to me.

"It really makes me wonder whether my bank is looking after my details."

A spokeswoman for NatWest said: "NatWest takes the issue of data protection extremely seriously and has very strict procedures in place to ensure the security of customer information at all times.

"Any breach of these procedures is totally unacceptable and is investigated as a matter of urgency."


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  • Last Updated: 18 March 2008 10:31 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

,

18/03/2008 11:34:09
Comment Removed By Administrator
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2

Arrow,

edinburgh 18/03/2008 12:22:10
i watched "the Last Enemy" and i don't want to be chipped!!! or being Scots would i have a chip on both my shoulders?
3

A Friend of Fernando Poo,

Newington 18/03/2008 13:09:00
It's most amusing to read of banking crises and how the high heid yins at the banks describe them as "unprecedented and totally unpredictable". Those of us at the sharp end who see their incompetence can only wryly shake our heads.
4

misspiggy,

Broxburn 18/03/2008 13:28:37
i think it's shocking that they didnt even pick up these transactions, my partner was the victim of fraud totalling thousands of ponunds but he got it back within days from the BOS so can't see why all banks can't take the same approach. I think banks in general dont seem to care about your finances as long as it's making them money. saying this though i think people need to be more aware that this can easily happen and they need to be more careful when disposing of any person details in the trash
5

Air Sense,

Durban 18/03/2008 17:11:17
Here in South Africa we are suffering an influx of some of the worlds best conmen and criminals from other parts of the continent . Fraud is rife here . Depsite all of this the banks refuse to impliment measures to tighten up the system or help people who are not computer literate . I had a fraud on my credit card 8 years ago and obviously discussed it with other people . What we found is that a large portion of the breach lies with the bank officials with whom we deal . A case in point was that unbeknown to anyone but the bank I loaded an ATM at the shopping centre where I had a practice . One morning when leaving the bank I was approached by a man in the parking lot who told me he was a successful business man but had fallen on hard times and needed a "soft" loan which I could recover from a monthly debit system from his "brother's " account at the same bank . He had followed me out of the bank . He told me the head cashier was his relative and had recommended me to him ! I obviously told him in most ungentlemanly terms what to do with himself and lo and behold the man calmly quoted verbatim my business activities and my association with the ATM ! He knew my business account name which was not the same of the business ! TO this day the bank has never answered my questions concerning the gross breach of security .To add insult to injury R 6300.00 went missing from a Trust account and has never been accounted for by the same bank whom I have been banking with for almost 20 years ! Cheques are safer to pay with than credit cards and I can cite many substantial forensic reasons for this . A cheque is also legal tender but banks decide to do away with them and convert to plastic , to , they purpost , save costs yet the cost of banking facilities for us here and on the continent has increased ten times since the introduction of plastic . I am afraid I belong to the old school . Nothing beats the tried and tested methods which I fully subscribe to . I will not have anoth
6

,

18/03/2008 17:17:31
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7

Toast,

18/03/2008 17:58:29
Wake up people, bank employees are trained to sell you their products,insurance,morgages etc they have no idea about security and to be quite brutal couldn't care less,long gone are the days when banks genuinely cared about customers,now it simply how much money can they squeeze out of you.

 

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