I’m always wary of answering withheld numbers. The past few years spent fighting back offers of new phone contracts and fictitious compensation claims have me hanging up when I see ‘no caller ID’.
But having relented a couple of weeks ago, it was an unknown call I was glad to receive.
A recorded message purporting to be from my bank told me that it had intercepted fraud on my account, and that I must call the bank immediately. Worried, I did just that.
Having gone through the security checks, I was alerted to the fact that an hour previously, someone had attempted to purchase £1,700 worth of jewellery in the north of England using my old debit card – a card I had destroyed months ago. I was reassured by Barclays that the transaction was blocked, and that any money that had been debited from my account was already reinstated.
Investigating card fraud
I’m not the only one who has been pleasantly surprised by a bank’s efficiency in preventing fraud. Our investigation into card fraud in Which? Money last month shows high levels of satisfaction with the way that credit and debit card providers respond to fraud, and contains plenty of stories where fraud victims have been dealt with sympathetically.
Yet there’s still room for improvement. We also found many people who’ve waited more than a month to get their money reimbursed, with a minority waiting between three and six months. Indeed, the financial regulator has announced that it’s going to look into delays in fraud refunds.
But with £450m lost to card fraud last year alone, it’s encouraging to see that the banks are fighting on your behalf. And I’m happy to endure the odd sales call if it means that my money is protected.
Have you been affected by card fraud? How did your bank respond to the fraud – was it quick to reimburse you?
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