Debit card stolen, including PIN!

[Wolfer]

Hi all,
Asking on behalf of someone, I know the answer, but feel so sorry for them I wondered if there was anything at all that could be done.

Without going into too many details -

They had the proceeds of a house sale in their current account (while deciding what to do with it) , and in the meantime went on holiday.
House was burgled, took everything they had of value, including a hidden purse, which had current account card in , stupidly they left the PIN number with the card (as it was new account) in the form of a phone number.
Card was used for large purchases.
Once back in UK, and it was found, obviously police were called.
Insurers have paid for what was taken, but Police have closed the case as they cannot find the thieves.
Due to the fact that the PIN number was with the card, they will not get that back.
They say the money would have been laundered, no chance of tracing it.
Talking quite a substantial amount.
Guess there is nothing that can be done, as the PIN was with it?

I know they were massively stupid, but I feel extremely sorry for them, they have had a massive run of bad luck!

As I say, presume nothing can be done, but wanted to ask - just in case.

Cheers

[LordHaveMurci]

Why wouldn't you have a 'substantial' amount of cash in some kind of savings account, even for a short time frame?

Presumably it wasn't or there wouldn't have been a debit card linked to the account?

What a horrible situation.

[supercommuter]

Very unfortunate situation, although where do the bank draw the line with 'the pin was with it'?

I have a pin reminder somewhere in the house in a safe. My wallet is at home on the bedside table while i have popped to the shops. House gets robbed, safe gets broken, they get the pin number and the cards.

Go and buy a <insert suitably high priced item> with it on chip and pin. So can i not get that back from the bank either?

[Wolfer]

LordHaveMurci said:

Why wouldn't you have a 'substantial' amount of cash in some kind of savings account, even for a short time frame?

Presumably it wasn't or there wouldn't have been a debit card linked to the account?

What a horrible situation.

Yes, she knows she's stupid, the house had just sold, and she was going on holiday, didn't know what to do with it and was going to sort it all out after the holiday (she had just been through a marriage break up after 20 years, house had just sold etc) So it was just sat in her newly set-up current account until she had some advice on what to do with it.

[Wolfer]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I am not sure , I too have had my card stopped when I was spending like a loon after the house sale. Same bank too. (I suppose it could have happened and she had it lifted as she was spending quite a bit of it after initial house sale, as she was setting up in a newly rented house.

Unfortunately, what she had left in there was what she was saving for a rainy day, well, "rainy year" considering the amount!

[jas xjr]

i would imagine that a burglar would not be the most sophisticated of criminals. surely this warrants a little more investigation ? are the police ssuming that the money has been laundered ?
shocking story all the same

[Wolfer]

jas xjr said:

i would imagine that a burglar would not be the most sophisticated of criminals. surely this warrants a little more investigation ? are the police ssuming that the money has been laundered ?
shocking story all the same

Investigation has been ongoing for many months. She has now been told case closed.

She was in bits, and I just wondered if anything else could be done to recoup any of the money - Although as I say, I'm pretty sure not!

[V8mate]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

And how did they work out that a scribbled telephone number contained the PIN?

[Wolfer]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Well, say hidden, it was in the one room they ransacked.
According to the Police, it wasn't opportunists.
And she lives in an area with next to no crime (the sort of place where a cracked sign makes the village newsletter)

[Wolfer]

V8mate said:

And how did they work out that a scribbled telephone number contained the PIN?

Guess I can say this now - I believe it was the first 4 numbers of the "phone number"

[V8mate]

Wolfer said:

V8mate said:

And how did they work out that a scribbled telephone number contained the PIN?

Guess I can say this now - I believe it was the first 4 numbers of the "phone number"

That still requires quite a leap of imagination on the part of the burglars?

[supercommuter]

V8mate said:

Wolfer said:

V8mate said:

And how did they work out that a scribbled telephone number contained the PIN?

Guess I can say this now - I believe it was the first 4 numbers of the "phone number"

That still requires quite a leap of imagination on the part of the burglars?

Yeh, very fishy that....

[Wolfer]

V8mate said:

That still requires quite a leap of imagination on the part of the burglars?

yeah, essentially I think either
a) she feels magnificently stupid and it was just the PIN or
b) instead of the phone number starting 01203 or 07744 etc it started 8788 (or whatever the PIN may have been!

[Robertj21a]

The bank will be able to tell if the PIN used was correct at the first attempt or whether it needed 2-3 attempts to get it right (most ATMs will capture the card after 3 inaccurate attempts). If it was correct at the first attempt it suggests that the number was crystal clear (to anybody) - and/or already known to a 3rd party.

Many such fraudulent withdrawals from ATMs eventually turn out to be a family member/close friend.

[jas xjr]

Wolfer said:

yeah, essentially I think either
a) she feels magnificently stupid and it was just the PIN or
b) instead of the phone number starting 01203 or 07744 etc it started 8788 (or whatever the PIN may have been!

i used to do this , but it would look like a normal phone number.

[Wolfer]

Robertj21a said:

The bank will be able to tell if the PIN used was correct at the first attempt or whether it needed 2-3 attempts to get it right (most ATMs will capture the card after 3 inaccurate attempts). If it was correct at the first attempt it suggests that the number was crystal clear (to anybody) - and/or already known to a 3rd party.

Many such fraudulent withdrawals from ATMs eventually turn out to be a family member/close friend.

As I say, was fully investigated, and I think they may even have had an idea, but no proof or whatever. A lot of the info I have is obviously 2nd hand from someone in distress, so I may have some things off kilter, but the main gist is there.

[LordHaveMurci]

Where was the money spent, and on what?

Don't cashpoints have cameras these days?

[Robertj21a]

LordHaveMurci said:

Where was the money spent, and on what?

Don't cashpoints have cameras these days?

Some do, many don't. It doesn't always help anyway if nobody recognises the mugshot !

[vsonix]

Surely with a bank card, PIN or no, the amount that can be withdrawn in a day is relatively small. Furthermore any sudden flurry of out-of-character card usage should trigger the bank's anti-fraud systems? Especially on a brand new, hitherto unused card?

something doesn't add up here.

[Condi]

This smells fishier than Grimsby market.



Soooo much does not add up.