The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is urging people to be on their guard against fraudsters who are seeking to exploit current concerns about bank overdraft charges. Callers, falsely claiming to be from the OFT, have been telephoning consumers with the promise that they can help them win back bank overdraft charges. In return for that help, the victim is asked to supply the fraudsters with personal and financial information. This is then used to commit identity theft or steal money from the victim. The OFT pointed out that the organisation never contacts consumers asking them for personal bank details. In a statement on the scam, the OFT said: “These callers have no connection with the OFT, and their intention is to use the information for identity theft or to run up bills or commit crimes using stolen details.” Consumers are being urged not to pass on personal or financial details to cold callers either over the phone or via email. If they have already done so, the OFT said they should get in touch with their banks as soon as possible and should scrutinise their credit card and bank account statements to see if there have been any unauthorised transactions. The criminals are seeking to cash in on the ongoing issue of whether charges levied by banks for unauthorised overdrafts are proportionate. The OFT and a number of UK lenders have agreed to go to court in a test case over the matter. Date:3 September 2007
Content by: Made Simple Group
Join our community today
