Victims of fraud struggle to navigate the complicated process of reporting the scam and often feel that the criminals have more rights than they do.
Some victims seek help and information from the bank used by the fraudsters, only to be told that data about the criminals? accounts cannot be disclosed because of data protection rules.
When one reader, Alistair Black, paid ?6,000 for a non-existent Harley-Davidson motorcycle on eBay, he thought the recipient bank would be best placed to stop the payment leaving the fraudster?s account.
However, when he tried to report the fraud to Nationwide, the criminal?s provider, it refused to help.
Banks have a duty only to their own customers ? in this case, the fraudster ? and could not tell Mr Black anything because of ?data protection?.
Mr Black also reported the crime to eBay, his local police in Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute, Scotland, and Action Fraud, the national cybercrime reporting service.
Mr Black, 62, a motorcycle enthusiast said he mentioned the fraud in passing to a staff member at his branch of Halifax, but didn?t think it could do anything as he had instructed it to make the payment.
Mr Black said he felt that he had been a ?bit of a fool?.
According to Mr Black, police said the criminal had withdrawn ?3,000 from a Nationwide branch in the south of England on the day of the transaction and then took out ?500 from a cash machine outside.
It was then that Nationwide became suspicious and froze the account, although it would not say what caused the alert.
Some victims seek help and information from the bank used by the fraudsters, only to be told that data about the criminals? accounts cannot be disclosed because of data protection rules.
When one reader, Alistair Black, paid ?6,000 for a non-existent Harley-Davidson motorcycle on eBay, he thought the recipient bank would be best placed to stop the payment leaving the fraudster?s account.
However, when he tried to report the fraud to Nationwide, the criminal?s provider, it refused to help.
Banks have a duty only to their own customers ? in this case, the fraudster ? and could not tell Mr Black anything because of ?data protection?.
Mr Black also reported the crime to eBay, his local police in Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute, Scotland, and Action Fraud, the national cybercrime reporting service.
Mr Black, 62, a motorcycle enthusiast said he mentioned the fraud in passing to a staff member at his branch of Halifax, but didn?t think it could do anything as he had instructed it to make the payment.
Mr Black said he felt that he had been a ?bit of a fool?.
According to Mr Black, police said the criminal had withdrawn ?3,000 from a Nationwide branch in the south of England on the day of the transaction and then took out ?500 from a cash machine outside.
It was then that Nationwide became suspicious and froze the account, although it would not say what caused the alert.
Comment