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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Thieves spend £15,000 on sweets | Thieves spend £15,000 on sweets |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A gang who swindled £20,000 out of a Belfast pensioner's bank account spent his savings on luxury chocolates. | A gang who swindled £20,000 out of a Belfast pensioner's bank account spent his savings on luxury chocolates. |
| Professor Leslie Clarkson's Halifax account was cleared out by a gang who got his security details. | Professor Leslie Clarkson's Halifax account was cleared out by a gang who got his security details. |
| They ordered £15,000 worth of Thorntons' chocolates which were picked up in England minutes after the fraudulent debit payment was accepted. | |
| The rest of the money was spent on Tesco vouchers. The Halifax has agreed to reimburse Professor Clarkson. | The rest of the money was spent on Tesco vouchers. The Halifax has agreed to reimburse Professor Clarkson. |
| Professor Clarkson realised the money was missing after he used phone banking to check his balance. | Professor Clarkson realised the money was missing after he used phone banking to check his balance. |
| He discovered that tens of thousands of pounds had been transferred from his individual savings account into his current account and that two fraudulent switch payments had then been authorised. | He discovered that tens of thousands of pounds had been transferred from his individual savings account into his current account and that two fraudulent switch payments had then been authorised. |
| One payment of £5,000 had been used to buy Tesco gift cards. | One payment of £5,000 had been used to buy Tesco gift cards. |
| Another £15,000 payment was made to leading sweet company, Thorntons, for a large order of luxury chocolates. | Another £15,000 payment was made to leading sweet company, Thorntons, for a large order of luxury chocolates. |
| A short time after the switch payment was processed, a van turned up at a Thortons' factory in England and picked up the order. | A short time after the switch payment was processed, a van turned up at a Thortons' factory in England and picked up the order. |
| Professor Clarkson said he was concerned that the bank had not notified him when the funds were transferred from one account to the other. | Professor Clarkson said he was concerned that the bank had not notified him when the funds were transferred from one account to the other. |
| The Halifax said customers should keep a close eye on their accounts | The Halifax said customers should keep a close eye on their accounts |
| "I was worried about how the fraudsters had got into my current account and through my current account got into my investment account," he said. | "I was worried about how the fraudsters had got into my current account and through my current account got into my investment account," he said. |
| "When I discovered the money had been moved from one account to another, but hadn't actually been spent, I should have been alerted at that stage. | "When I discovered the money had been moved from one account to another, but hadn't actually been spent, I should have been alerted at that stage. |
| "They had moved it from a difficult account to an easy account to spend, so I did become very concerned about how it had been done. | "They had moved it from a difficult account to an easy account to spend, so I did become very concerned about how it had been done. |
| "It was not done via a lost card or a carelessly dumped pin number." | "It was not done via a lost card or a carelessly dumped pin number." |
| The Halifax said customers should keep a close eye on their accounts and alert their bank to any irregularities. | The Halifax said customers should keep a close eye on their accounts and alert their bank to any irregularities. |
| The bank also said their customers were covered by an online fraud guarantee which means they are fully covered if money is taken from their accounts illegally. | The bank also said their customers were covered by an online fraud guarantee which means they are fully covered if money is taken from their accounts illegally. |
| They said banks monitor any unusual transactions and investigate any account activity which is out of the ordinary. | They said banks monitor any unusual transactions and investigate any account activity which is out of the ordinary. |