Giving out your bank details

[Hayles]

Hi

Just wondered why it's ok to give companies your bank details for BACS payments?

Isn't this dangerous? We're always hearing that we shouldn't give out our bank details because of fraudsters....?

We're asked for our bank details more and more from customers wanting to pay us directly and I always hesitate before filling in the form.

Hayles

[breeksy]

Only worry about it if you are worried about paying by cheque - the details contained on your cheques are exactly the same as is needed by business to pay you by BACS. It's fine, don't worry about it.

[Hayles]

Yes, good point.... so neither way is very secure then!!

[Coding Monkey]

I guess it's back to cash, just past midnight, down a dark alley.

[4dhosting]

Provided they don't also have a copy of your signiture and a proof of ID for you then it should be fine.

[Hayles]

I feel a perfect excuse coming on for not paying any bills unless people will travel to collect it in person! :wink:

So how do the foreign 'I'm a millionaire's son whose father has been killed by the governmnet' fraudsters get money from your account with just the basic details?

[breeksy]

So how do the foreign 'I'm a millionaire's son whose father has been killed by the governmnet' fraudsters get money from your account with just the basic details?

AFAIAA they don't - they collect advance fees and as they encounter problems they collect more advance fees - see here for details:

http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/

[Pebble Communications]

There is no danger in giving someone your account name and number. This information can only be used to put money in and not take money out.

It's only dangerous if people get also hold of your passwords, your 3 letter card security code, and details that banks ask for security like your mothers maiden name, regular incomings and outgoings from your account, details or loans or other accounts held etc.

[multilingual]

Provided they don't also have a copy of your signiture and a proof of ID for you then it should be fine.

you mean like the copy of the signature that is on the cheque that you give them?

:wink:

[dcraigdc]

Quite a dangerous scam going on a few months ago. A few fraudsters went through a local phonebook and rang people up claiming to be from Visa.

The script would be something like "Mr Smith? My name's John I'm calling from the Visa Theft department in London, we have reason to believe that we have caught somebody who has copied yours and several other peoples cards illegally. We are calling to verify that it is in fact your card is that ok?" To which of course the answer was usually yes.

"Ok for security purposes I will need to ask you a couple of questions..." They then proceed to ask for all of the secret password information and the person, believing it to be a real call because they were called by their proper name, gives that information out. Then it became a simple task of gathering just a card number and start/expiry date and they were away.

It wasn' really reported in the press, I'm not sure why, but a very cunning method nonetheless.

[ewan]

I'm contemplating accepting bank transfer payment for orders online, but am a little wary of the security implications.

Am I right in thinking the unanimous view here is that it should be perfectly safe to disclose the required information?

[Cornish Steve]

There is no danger in giving someone your account name and number.
There is so much identity theft going on right now, there's no way I am giving out bank account information. Victims of identity theft face personal distress, financial loss, and years of financial recovery. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I keep all financial information close to my chest.

In response to the message about credit card fraud, I mentioned once before about how I almost fell foul of this at a world-class hotel. Someone called my room at 2am claiming to be from the front-desk. They claimed that the credit approval system had failed and they needed to reenter my credit card information. When the caller asked for the 3-digit code on the back of my card, I became suspicious, hung up on the call, and called the front desk. Of course, no one from there had called me; it was a scam. I learned the next day that several hotel guests had been called during the early hours, and many had given away sensitive information. Since I had foolishly given away the card number and expiration date, I cancelled the card right away and ordered a new one.

[KM-Tiger]

Am I right in thinking the unanimous view here is that it should be perfectly safe to disclose the required information?
I cannot see any problem, indeed it's printed on every invoice I send, as more and more customers are paying by BACS.

But that is for a Ltd Co, where the chances of anyone committing fraud are remote.

[autolycus]

There is no danger in giving someone your account name and number. This information can only be used to put money in and not take money out.


Actually, there are several companies now who let you set up direct debits online just by entering your sort code and account number. So potentially, a fraudster who had your sort code and a/c number could use your details in this way instead of their own. It might be several months before you spotted the unauthorised payments leaving your account.

However, this still doesn't make BACS any more risky than paying by cheque. In fact, as others have said, cheques are probably more risky since they include a copy of your signature as well as your account details.

Dave.

[Tam]

You could ask your bank to set-up a new account and when any money is
paid-in transfer it to your main account and leave this one empty :wink:

Tam

[Coding Monkey]

Actually, there are several companies now who let you set up direct debits online just by entering your sort code and account number.

My ISP/Mobile phone suppliers being some of them.

[Cornish Steve]

As a follow up, a front page story in the local paper today related to a couple who stole the identity of many hundreds of people. Basically, they stole mail from local apartment mailboxes, stole courtesy cheques that many credit cards now offer, and took advantage of account information from bank statements. They got away with it for some time by using forged picture IDs.

As I mentioned before, I'm probably paranoid, but I'm not giving anyone any information about my bank account.

[DvdShop]

What about Bank transfer? thats gotta be save? you give them your Name,Sort code and account number,What kind of Info do they need to get money out? card number?