The FSA warns consumers to be alert to telephone scam
23/08/1999
The Financial Services Authority (the FSA) is warning consumers to be alert to a telephone scam that began in North America but that is now also being targeted at depositors in the UK.
The method of approach used by the fraudsters takes the following form:
A customer receives a telephone call from a person purporting to be a representative of their bank;
The caller claims that the bank is having difficulty meeting requirements to be ready for the Year 2000;
The caller explains that the customer needs to transfer their existing account to another account specially designed to protect their money until the bank can fully comply with Year 2000 requirements;
Customers are then asked to provide account information and verbal authorisation to transfer funds to this specially designed account.
Vigilance and reporting of suspicions remain one of the best defences against fraud. To date there have been only a handful of cases reported in the UK and the FSA is not aware of any incidents where customers have disclosed such details. To ensure that they do not become victims of fraud, FSA and banking service providers reiterate their advice to customers:
Never disclose account numbers, personal identification numbers (PIN) or other account information to someone you do not know;
Do report any suspicious request for account information to your bank or building society;
Do look at account statements on a timely basis and question any discrepancies;
Do contact your bank or building society if you have any question about its Year 2000 readiness.
The UK financial services industry is showing a strong momentum towards Year 2000 readiness and the FSA continues to monitor financial institutions progress closely. The FSAs latest assessment is that no high impact financial institutions face a serious risk of material disruption from Y2K-related problems. Banks and building societies have tested customer-facing systems and are confident that these tests have confirmed delivery of service as usual at the year-end.
The British Bankers Association and the Building Societies Association have issued an informative leaflet for customers of banks and building societies, in conjunction with the Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS), called Your Money and the Millennium. The leaflet answers customers questions on preparations for the Year 2000 and reassures customers that banks and building societies are confident it will be business as usual over the Millenium. The BBA and BSA have also brought this recent telephone scam to the attention of their members.
Notes for editors
on request at banks and building society branches;
on the websites of the: BBA http://www.bba.org.uk/ click "Year 2000", BSA http://www.bsa.org.uk/ and
APACS http://www.apacs.org.uk/documents/y2kleaf.pdffrom industry bodies: BBA 020 7216 8801 (message service), BSA 020 7437 0655, APACS 020 7711 6235
This is not a new scam - the method of approach has been seen before. The advice above reinforces the messages given previously by banking service providers.
The FSA has a dedicated Year 2000 section on its website, which includes publications, speeches, press releases, and guidance for supervisors and links to other Year 2000 sites. The URL is http://www.fsa.gov.uk/y2kcomp.htm.
The FSA gave its latest assessment of the state of readiness of the UK financial services industry on 22 July. This showed that none of the 150 financial groups in the High Impact category were rated as facing a serious risk of material disruption.
The leaflet, Your Money and the Millennium, is available:
The BBA, BSA and APACS also maintain the Banking Code which is prepared in consultation with consumer bodies. The Code sets out the minimum standards of service (including protection of personal/account information) that customers can expect from all banks and building societies which subscribe to the Code.