WCYT

Stuart, aged 34, had a staggering £22,000 stolen through fraudulent means from his business and personal bank accounts two years ago. Stuart runs his own coaching and training company for businesses. He had his wallet stolen whilst attending a training course in Northampton. He left his jacket on the back of his chair throughout the day and when he got up to leave he noticed his jacket felt lighter- and his wallet had been stolen.

Immediately, he called all his banks to put a stop on his cards, but due to the fact that he was told he did not answer all the security questions correctly, the banks were unable to take any action.

Once he returned home, his wife informed Stuart that someone from the council had called earlier that day, claiming they had a returned cheque from a council tax refund, and were calling to check Stuart’s address. She gave the caller their address and corrected him when he got Stuart’s mother’s maiden name wrong.

Stuart’s bank had also called that day. Unable to get in contact with him, they said they would call back later, and reassured his wife that everything was fine.

What in fact had happened was that the criminals had used the personal information from Stuart’s credit card, driving licence and conversation with his wife, to fake his identification and fraudulently take £4,000 from his business card (over the counter from the bank), £300 from his bank account, £14,000 from his Visa card, spent £2,500 to buy a video camera and £1,000 in a clothing shop.

The incident was seriously stressful for both Stuart and his wife and affected their business and personal accounts. For Stuart, this was a major distraction to his coaching and training business, due to the time spent trying to solve the crime.

In total, he experienced four months of “hell”, trying to get his identity back and sort out the crime. In addition, Stuart had to go away for a business trip the day after the incident, and so had to borrow money to fund it. In the end, all the money was eventually recovered.

Key piece of advice from Stuart:
“ I would advise everyone to never use their mother’s real maiden name as a security answer, as it is just too difficult to keep it a secret. Use something funny or even stupid, call her Posh Spice or Domestos if you have to. Also, I’ve learnt to leave my driving licence at home, and to stop carrying all my credit and debits cards with me – you should keep a couple of them at home, just so that you are covered financially if the others are lost.”

WCYT

A community interest company keeping vulnerable residents in Essex safe from rogue tradesmen and doorstep conmen

www.whocanyoutrust.org.uk

Businessman loses £22,000

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