OneGuyFromBarlick

Eldest son fell foul of this today despite being an intelligent software developer. Call from HSBC Fraud department, the correct caller id showed on his phone, they quoted his account number and asked a couple of security questions. They then said they would text him a code to verify his mobile number, he relayed the code back to them before the 'penny dropped'. Too late, they'd emptied his account...

In all fairness to HSBC, they routinely state that they will never ask you for your password or the code to your account, but I'm not surprised he was taken in by this scam. I had to ring Barclays security centre last month and I received a similar code, so this scam is so believable if you are just not thinking.

Will HSBC reimburse him? Or will they say it is his own fault for disclosing the password?

He never disclosed the password, they used security questions to reset it. The 'clever' bit was sending the code to his mobile to confirm his identity which was actually a genuine code from the bank, he relayed the code which effectively confirmed the password reset. They're getting very clever. The HSBC fraud department will take up to 2weeks to investigate, luckily for him the bank of dad can bail him out.

In the bad old days when communication was so difficult we were at least free from this sort of scam. Sorry to hear he got caught Kev.

Big Kev wrote: ↑26 May 2021, 21:08 He never disclosed the password, they used security questions to reset it.

I should have said for revealing the pass code...

In my case the pass code freed up my Barclays account and allowed me to re-gain access, so it is a powerful number. Prior to issuing the code, Barclays security took me through a series of security questions like the spoofer presumably did with your son, nothing to be suspicious about. How can you be sure it is a trusted person to whom you are giving information? No wonder he was caught out. Hope he gets the money back and HSBC catch the thieves.

Hopefully they will as he never revealed his password or pin number. He is feeling rather foolish.
It looks like it's money laundering activity, a very large sum of money was deposited and then transferred to various other accounts in smaller amounts which also included my son's balance. He's gone into a branch this morning to, hopefully, sort it out. The goon he spoke to on the phone last night appeared to be reading from a script and, in my son's words, was bloidy useless.

This has become a bigger problem during the pandemic and it's essentially a more sophisticated version of `vishing' which in turn is the voice version of `smishing' which is done by text or email. The banks say they have agreed to refund victims but in practise some are not yet doing so and need prodding by the regulators. I hope HSBC do the right thing and quickly, Kev. Large numbers of people have fallen victim to the scam and the perpetrators have made many millions of pounds out of it. At least the police caught about 9 such men spread around the country last week for smishing. They're always men!

What I dont understand with the bank is the account number sending the funds is known, likewise the recipient banks, these must be tied to known persons ? (OK some are 'mule' accounts where someone is paid for handling funds from these transactions). I would always check online if a bank rings (I dont have much in the accounts and while I keep two separate they are linked on the online screen which is unhelpful for this kind of fraud). If a bank rings you they should pass your security and tell you your DOB etc. ( OK can be found elsewhere).

Positive news from son's bank, they are honouring his direct debits and will be restoring the stolen balance. He's in the fortunate position of having a second account with a different bank, he can use this while the HSBC fraud department untangle what has gone on. A lesson learned, don't believe the caller ID that shows up on your phone. Number Spoofing is very real.