I lost £10,000 after fraudsters spied my gym locker PIN and guessed it was the same for my card
Matthew Spencer, 36, believes scammers at his upmarket gym went on a spending spree with his cards after spying on him in the changing rooms
ACCOUNTANT Matthew Spencer had £10,000 stolen after fraudsters watched him enter his locker PIN before stealing his wallet and going on a spending spree.
The 36-year-old had been saving the cash for a house deposit and has now been told by his bank that he won't be getting a penny back.
Scammers spied on Matthew while in the changing room of his posh gym in Canary Wharf, and when he was working out for two hours they went on a massive spending spree, blowing £10,000.
The criminals used the card to splash out on £5,000 worth of MacBooks in John Lewis, to pay for a £500 slap-up meal at posh Mayfair restaurant Roka, and withdrew thousands in cash.
Unfortunately for Matthew, he used the same PIN for his gym locker as his debit card, allowing the scammers access to the cash in his current account.
Matthew's bank, HSBC, is now refusing to refund him the money.
Five tips to protect yourself from card fraud
HERE are consumer group Which?'s five top tips to protect yourself from card fraud:
- Take your time - Card fraudsters may use pressure or distraction techniques to make you feel flustered and persuade you to reveal personal or financial details. Taking time and care with every transaction could help you notice unusual or unexpected behavior, and treating unsolicited phone calls, letters, emails or texts with caution is wise.
- Use cashpoints inside banks - It’s less likely that a cashpoint inside a bank will have been tampered with. It’s always worth checking that there is nothing unusual about the cashpoint, though, and that there aren’t people hanging around it or standing too close while you use it.
- Monitor card statements - Keep an eye on your statement for any unusual transactions that haven’t been picked up by your bank.
- Check your credit report - Monitoring your credit card will help you spot any accounts opened in your name using stolen details.
- Act quickly - If you spot a fraudulent transaction or your card is lost or stolen, contact your bank straight away. Change your Pin and account passwords, and if you think mail has been intercepted or redirected to a new address, contact Royal Mail.
He said: "I've been with HSBC for 10 years; they know my spending patterns, and I'm very disappointed with how they’ve treated me.
"The whole situation has caused me considerable frustration, setbacks, and has left me unable to trust people."
'When I noticed my card was gone it was too late'
Matthew first noticed something was wrong when he took out his wallet to pay for the Tube, only to notice his debit card was missing.
Immediately he logged into his online banking on his mobile, to find nearly £10,000 had been spent, while £50,000 he had saved in a HSBC savings account had been transferred into his current account.
Matthew instantly called the bank telling it he'd lost his card and not to process the transactions, but the bank said it was too late.
Thankfully Matthew was able to cancel his card to prevent further spending and transferred the cash back into his savings account to stop the fraudsters from getting their mitts on it.
The accountant has worked with the police to piece together what happened and while there was CCTV footage of Matthew during his work out, crucially there were no cameras in the changing rooms.
One year on, and Matthew is still battling to get his money back and has now taken his case to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Matthew said: "I'm really disappointed with HSBC, and also with the police, who haven’t really done much to investigate what I consider to be quite a considerable crime.
"I just want my money back in full and HSBC should have to pay interest on top as well."
How to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service
If you have a complaint about a financial provider, you should be able to take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
But to do this, you first need to complain to the company involved.
If they don't issue you a "final response" within eight weeks or you're unhappy with the response you do get, you can take your gripe to the Ombudsman.
It's free to complain to the Ombudsman, and you can do this , by calling 0800 023 4567 or by filling out a .
A HSBC spokesperson said: “We provided Mr Spencer with our final response on January 5.
"We understand that Mr Spencer’s case is being considered by the Financial Ombudsman Service and as such it is not appropriate for us to comment at this stage.”
M&S Bank best for dealing with fraud
It comes as research by revealed the best and worst banks for dealing with fraud.
In 2017, card fraud added up to £566million, according to trade body UK Finance.
Which? found that M&S Bank is top when it comes to dealing with card fraud, while John Lewis languishes in last place.
Gareth Shaw, head of money, Which? said: "After losing often life-changing sums to card fraud through no fault of their own, some victims are then finding their banks are putting the blame at their feet and refusing to reimburse them.
"It’s been made clear by the Financial Ombudsman Service that the bar for gross negligence should be set at a high level in fraud cases - so we want to see more banks treating their customers fairly and reimbursing them if they're clearly not to blame."
More on scams and fraud
The news comes as only last week Which? warned that NatWest and RBS customers are being targeted by scammers.
We reported earlier this year how one student lost his £17,000 life savings after scammers pretended to be from NatWest.
Meanwhile, scammers stole £600 from one holidaymaker's bank account after she clicked on a fake holiday booking website.
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