TSB says it fights fraud – but it’s let criminals plunder my account AGAIN

BRITISH bank TSB has pledged £200,000 to help the Metropolitan Police fight fraud, but one of its customers is asking why he has been left thousands of pounds out of pocket as the victim of such a crime.

Adam Button is fighting for a full refund after falling foul of a scam that resulted in £6,700 being sucked from his account, leaving him £2,500 overdrawn. So far, the bank has only agreed to clear the overdraft, leaving him £4,200 out of pocket.

The 24-year-old from Bristol had previously experienced fraud on his account, but suspicious transactions were either spotted by TSB or refunds made.

In November, he received two calls from the bank to discuss the frauds and to confirm he would be issued with a new debit card. Yet a third call days later warned him his account had been targeted again. Adam says the number showing on his phone was the same as appears on the back of his debit card.

Like previous calls, he was asked to confirm his identity by giving key personal facts such as his name and address. The caller then identified the fraudulent payments that had previously been blocked on his account, as well as detailing transactions he had made over the previous fortnight. They also named his local branch and enquired whether he had received his new debit card. Everything said indicated that Adam was dealing with someone from the bank.

He was then told he would receive a ‘one-time passcode’ via his mobile that would safeguard his account.

Adam gave details of this code to the caller – but no log-in account information. But the code was sufficient to enable the fraudster to empty his account plus use up a £ 2,500 overdraft. When he contacted the bank, it said it would not refund him because he shared his passcode with the thieves. He was also informed that the call from the number given on the back of his debit card was a result of a trick known as ‘number spoofing’. This is where scammers use software, bought easily online, to imitate known and trusted numbers.

Adam was unaware of such a scam. He says: ‘If TSB had warned me in earlier calls to be wary of number spoofing, I would never have presumed the last call was genuine and I would have been more circumspect about giving out sensitive details over the telephone.’

Adam also queries why earlier – and smaller – frauds were considered suspicious and thwarted, but not the emptying of his bank account and use of an overdraft facility.

He believes TSB has not fulfilled its duty of care to him as a cus- tomer. Adam’s mum Tracey was in the room with him when he took the call from the fraudsters. She says her suspicions were not raised because her son’ s responses seemed routine. She says the fraudsters ‘worked hard to groom him and won over his trust’.

She adds: ‘The loss of this money could have a life-changing effect on my son’s future as he struggles to support himself on a part-time wage.’

TSB says: ‘We sympathise with our customer who has been a victim of such a cruel scam. Unfortunately, despite warnings generated by our systems, the customer gave confidential details to the fraudster who was then able to transfer funds into their own account.

‘We fight fraud at every level, working closely with law enforcement to identify and prosecute the criminals behind these scams.’

After reviewing Adam’s case at The Mail on Sunday’s request, TSB agreed to clear the £2,500 overdraft.

Adam has now referred his complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which settles disputes between financial companies and their customers.

TSB’s donation to the Metropolitan Police, to help it tackle ‘highly complex and sophisticated attacks’ from fraudsters, comes in the wake of a tough time for the bank.

A botched change in its IT systems last spring prevented millions of customers from accessing their accounts–and triggered an upsurge in bank fraud.