Julian Paszkiewicz
Radio 4, you and yours
Stephen
Stephen said that fraud treatment had taken him seven hours a day to resolve since he started three weeks ago
A man targeted by fraudsters who obtained his mobile phone number in an energy company said that he was often wake up in the night thinking “What then?”.
Stephen, from the Hertfordshire, had more than £ 40,000 taken from a savings account after his name and email address were used to obtain information from EDF.
Within 48 hours of the disclosure of his mobile phone number, his accounts with O2, Nationwide Building Society and Virgin Media had all been compromised.
EDF said that such incidents were rare, but he took them seriously and added: “We are sorry for the difficulties that this fraudulent appellant caused Stephen.”
Reuters
The energy company said that its verification processes had been followed, but it was then informed that the call had been fraudulent
The man, who is only identified as Stephen, told BBC Radio 4 You and Yours, that he had been alerted to criminal action on February 3.
He received a text from O2 confirming that he had changed his password.
After telling O2 that he had not changed his password, the firm said he had to be the victim of a SIM exchange scam, which sees his mobile number used and transferred to a new SIM card.
The next morning, EDF sent him an email to ask him for comments on his recent contact with the company, although he did not call.
He was told that his fraud service would be in contact but a week later, had heard nothing.
The attacked accounts
Meanwhile, O2 confirmed that his new SIM card was on the way, but it was connected to another mobile phone number.
His boutique staff told him to check his emails and he discovered his email supplier Virgin Media that someone had changed his password.
While trying to solve this problem, criminals made a descent into his accounts.
On February 5, he could not access his national credit card. The building company then increased its safety.
Reuters
He became aware of fraud when O2 sent him a text confirming that he had changed his password, which he did not have
Worse news was to come when he learned that his savings and national investment password had been changed.
“After an hour to talk to different people there, they said:” You have in fact withdrawn a very large amount of premium bonds, more than £ 40,000, “said Stephen.
“£ 50 to close the case”
After more than a week, EDF finally answered the call that Stephen had made at 11:00 am GMT on February 3.
EDF explained that the fraudster had his name and his email address and asked EDF to give them his mobile number, which the company did.
“I said,” Why would you do that? “They said that the person had suffered security.” With a name and an email address, “I asked?” He said.
“EDF said:” Yes “- and then offered me a good will of £ 50 to close the case.
“I was just surprised and I said to myself:” How can they do this and that means that all my other accounts from the bank and the Society building are also compromised? “.”
The EDF’s fraudster call occurred three hours before O2 received a request to move its number The SIM exchange scam.
The criminals do it to get around two -fact authentication to modify passwords and access everything you need a code from an SMS.
Stephen reported fraud to the hertfordshire police and she transmitted it to the action fraud because the crime would have been committed outside the county.
In 2021, Action Fraud, the United Kingdom’s reporting center for fraud and cybercrime, received around 500 reports – last year, it reached more than 2,000.
Getty images
Nick Stapleton said that the host of swindle interceptors
Expert in cybersecurity and animator of BBC One’s Scam Interceptors, Nick Stapleton, advised people to think about what they shared on social networks.
“If you have a social media account that is not protected and has things like a photo of your dog with his name below, or your family with their marked names, crooks can use them for past security questions,” he said.
He also recommended adding a SIM card tank number, which can be done in a phone settings, and the use of authenticating applications to generate random codes, instead of those sent by text.
Stephen believed that bad customer service helps criminals by giving them more time.
“Some nights, I just wake up at night thinking, that then? It was very difficult,” he said.
National Savings and Investments said he had reimbursed him for the money from his account.
The Nationwide Building Society said that fraudulent purchases were blocked, adding that, in addition to complying with its legal obligations, it had to balance security with customer service.
O2 Virgin Media confirmed that the crook called for his call center asking for a new SIM card and hacked Stephen’s emails.
A spokesperson said he was offered “£ 125 as a gesture of good will”.
EDF, which has nearly six million British customers, said: “The security procedures were followed. We recognize that it was fraud.
“These incidents are rare, but we take them seriously and examine our processes. We have also discussed this incident with the information commissioner’s office.”
