Fraud warning

Sir, I am writing to let you know about my experience in the hope of saving a few people on the island from being defrauded.

Recently I took my car to the mainland to have some major work done and arranged to collect it last week. Of course I had to make arrangements to pay for the work – a not insignificant amount – and received a summary of the work done together with an invoice by e-mail for payment plus bank details so I could make a bank transfer. That arrived at 2.20pm on a Wednesday. I didn’t open the email until after five o’clock, and actually paid the bill at 5.20pm. That was fine.

Just before seven I received a further email from Barry at the garage explaining that a bounced cheque transaction had somehow frozen their bank account and could I make the payment to a different bank account – details attached.

But I had already paid! So I rang my bank and asked about this, only to be told that were there something of that nature amiss then the money would bounce back. It had not.

What to do? Should I ask for the sum to be clawed back, or should I just hope that it had all gone through correctly before the glitch on the receiving bank.

Then I further considered the second e-mail - it had been sent and hour and 52 minutes after the garage office normally closes for business – funny. It had come from Barry at the garage – but I was suspicious – so I rang my bank back and asked to speak to the cyber fraud section.

A few questions and then I was told that the attempt fraud – were it an attempt fraud – was not really for the bank to investigate as it had been directed at me rather than at the bank, therefore the bank could not deal with it.

They gave me a lead to an outfit called Action Fraud and again confirmed that the money I had already paid had not bounced back.

I decided to leave things as they were and check with the garage next morning to ensure that they had indeed received the money into their account – which they had. Phew!! Anyway I took all the dodgy details with me to the garage when I collected my car and discovered that I was not the first person who had been targeted in this way. There had been one other one which they had considered to be a one off – no longer!

I got the car back to the island and there waiting for me on the computer were another two emails from ‘Barry’ telling me to pay the bill into this new account. And then I got another one! And finally a fifth.

I decided to let the police know what had happened to me so rang that ‘ever so useful number’ 101. I spoke to a very pleasant person, explained what had happened only to be told that I should contact Action Fraud as clearly no crime had been committed. What?!

Someone is blatantly and persistently trying to steal several thousand pounds from me and there is no crime?

So does that mean that as the crime statistics need further massaging, that ‘going equipped’ and attempt murder are now to be downgraded to ‘not a crime’ as the crime does not occur until it has actually been committed? ‘

No’, she said, ‘it’s not like that’. It’s just that in this case as no money had been fraudulently taken, then no crime had occurred. We should all be aware of this change in interpretation! But that is what I have been told and it was reiterated when I queried it. No crime in this context is committed until it is successful!

So, what can you and I do to avoid this type of fraud?

Well, when you expect a

bill of this nature, wait until it arrives, then ring the invoicing company and talk to someone you know. Check that they have sent the bill, check that the bank details on the invoice are correct and only when you are satisfied should you pay it. No, it is not convenient, but then it is your money and if you are defrauded that is not convenient either and you still need to pay the bill.

I hope you can learn by my experience and avoid getting caught. I was lucky and could have paid the bill to the wrong account had the first fraudulent e-mail arrived early enough to be plausible.

Yours, Rory Cowan Kildonan