Cat 6 CIFA’s marker

**Amethyst** · 17th January 2019, 14:15:PM

Did they give a reason for closing your account the second time ?

You continued allowing your friend to use your account for transactions even after the bank had closed it the first time and reopened it ? How did you pass the money that went into your account over to your 'friend' ?

A card reader would be replaced within a week or so if it was genuinely lost.

Have a read of this https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43897614

I'd send a SAR to your bank to find out exactly what happened with your account and also a SAR to Cifas to check what the marker is, then consider making a complaint and asking for the marker to be removed - if your account was shut because of the fraudulent transactions ( ie you allowing someone else to use your account to make transaction that weren't necessarily above board ) then it is unlikely you'll be able to and it will affect you for the next 6 years.

**Emma1994** · 17th January 2019, 15:05:PM

Thanks for your reply I really appreciate it,

i had a read through the link and this sounds exactly like what has happened to me, I feel so stupid and naive for doing this but i’m Just praying that something could be done to remove the marker as it was such a stupid mistake! So when the account re opened I wasn’t aware there was a real issue with what wAs going on I just thought somebody didn’t receive an item that they bought and they needed proof it was actually sent and not just a scam... so he continued to make one or two other payments.. it was all done via bank transfers there was no cash at all involved.

The second time is when it was closed permantely and they said it was regarding fraud but they gave no more deta at all and will not discuss it with me...

are you aware of any of any action I can take from here to help at all?

Thanks again for your time

**Amethyst** · 17th January 2019, 15:30:PM

How did you pass the money from your account to his account ? was that Bank Transfer too ?

They won't discuss it with you, particularly if there was suspicion of money laundering or fraud. You likely breached your account terms as well by allowing someone else to use your account.

Have you been able to open another account elsewhere?

First you need the info from CIFAS - I think you've already asked them for that - Does a CIFAS marker show up on your credit file as well ? ( MSE Credit Club gives you free access to your Experian Credit file if you don't already have access )

Once you have the info you could look at making a complaint and taking it through the Financial Ombudsman... however it will depend very much on the precise circumstances as to whether that would be successful. That they closed and reopened your account when you provided the posting receipt might help, as they could have made you aware there may be an issue with the activity at that point ( and thereby protected people from fraud )

Here's some case studies from Financial Ombudsman as an idea ( sorry it's not all that positive )

https://www.ombudsman-decisions.org.uk/#SEARCH ( search on CIFAS and tick upheld and not upheld to see all the various scenarios that have been subject to previous rulings )

This one seems likely to be similar to your situation - https://www.ombudsman-decisions.org....?FileID=185049

And from the FOS newsletter focus case studies on under 25's being used as MoneyMules - underlines a couple of bits which might be more positive.

current accounts - "money mules"

There's evidence that younger people are particularly at risk of unwittingly getting caught up in financial fraud. According to the fraud prevention service Cifas, over half of "misuse of facility" fraud involves people aged under 30. This generally involves,knowingly or otherwise, acting as a "money mule" - allowing criminals to launder money through your account in return for a cash payment.

The real consequences of committing this kind of 'Misuse of Facility' fraud includes the risk of a conviction for money laundering, which carries a maximum prison term of 14 years. Additionally it could affect future applications for mortgages, credit cards, mobile phones and student loans.

We have clear rules that our members need to follow to make sure that individuals are only recorded where they were complicit in the fraud.

Cifas - www.cifas.org.uk

Financial businesses that are members of Cifas record and share information through the National Fraud Database. People who contact us often do so after a business closes their account without warning - and they then discover they've got a fraud marker on their record.
139/3
consumer complains that bank has closed her account - after suspecting her involvement in fraud

Miss K, aged 21, suddenly found she couldn't use her debit card or mobile payments - and that her online banking had been blocked. When she phoned her bank, she was told her current account and ISA had been closed. And the next day, she received a letter confirming that they no longer wanted her as their customer.
Over the next few weeks, Miss K tried to find out what had happened. She also tried to open new accounts with different banks. When both proved unsuccessful - worried she had no way of being paid or covering her bills - she phoned us.
putting things right
Miss K told us that in her phone call with the bank, she'd got the impression that they were concerned about money going into her account from a job she'd recently had. She said some of the banks she'd unsuccessfully tried to open accounts with had referred to "Cifas". But she hadn't really known what this was - and thought she might be asked to pay for something when she had no way of doing so.
We asked the bank for more information about their decision to close Miss K's accounts. They showed us that her current account had regularly been receiving large amounts of money, which had then been moved out again to different accounts almost immediately. The bank explained that because of this activity, they'd suspected Miss K was involved in fraud - and had put a Cifas marker on her records.
In light of this, we asked Miss K more about the job she'd mentioned. She said she'd found it on a classified ads website - and of all the applications she'd sent off, that employer had been the only one to reply. She said she'd been taken on as PA to a management consultant. Among other admin tasks, she'd been asked to receive money into her bank account and to send it onto her boss's clients. She said it wasn't the job she'd hoped for, but she'd really needed the money.
We looked carefully at the whole email exchange between Miss K and her boss. Given the volume and general tone of these messages, we could understand why Miss K had though the job was legitimate. We explained to Miss K that we thought it was very likely that her employer had been a fraudster - and it seemed her bank thought so too.
But there was no evidence to suggest she'd been knowingly involved in fraud. So in the circumstances, we told the bank to remove the Cifas marker from her records.

139/4
young consumer complains that bank has put Cifas marker on his records following fraudulent activity on his account

Mr H, aged 18, received a letter from his bank explaining that they'd decided to close his account. After Mr H had difficulty opening a bank account elsewhere, he complained that the bank had put fraud markers on his file. He said he'd lost his debit card and been a victim of identity theft - but hadn't been involved in fraud himself.
However, the bank wouldn't remove the markers - and Mr H contacted us.
putting things right
In their letter to Mr H, The bank hadn't given any detail about why they'd blocked his account. So we asked them to tell us how they'd reached their decision.
The bank explained that Mr H had rarely used the account since opening it three years previously. They felt the fact he'd paid in £100 just before the fraudulent transactions happened meant he was clearly complicit in the fraud.
On balance, we didn't agree. We pointed out that the £100 payment wasn't necessarily connected to the subsequent transactions. It was possible that it was a payment Mr H had received from the fraudsters in return for using his bank account. But in itself, it wasn't sufficient evidence that he'd been involved in the fraud. And it wasn't fair for the bank to apply a fraud marker based on suspicion alone.
In the circumstances, we decided a fair solution was for the bank to remove the fraud marker from the open record about Mr H - but that it could be retained for the bank's own internal records.

139/5
consumer complains that bank has closed her current account and put her name on Cifas database - so she can't open an account elsewhere

Ms M, a college student, found she couldn't withdraw cash or check her bank balance. When she phoned her bank, they asked her to come into one of their branches to discuss the situation.
When Ms M visited her local branch, she was told that a fraud marker had been put on her account due to a transfer and withdrawal she'd made. She was told her account was being closed and she'd need to bank elsewhere in the future.
Ms M tried to open another account with several other high street banks, but was turned down. An adviser with one bank told her that they couldn't approve her application because of a warning on the Cifas database. They said she'd struggle to open an account elsewhere, too.
Ms M's mother, Mrs M, complained to the bank that had closed her current account. But the bank replied that they'd acted fairly and in line with their legal and regulatory obligations. Worried her daughter was now without a bank account, Mrs M phoned us.
putting things right
We asked the bank for more information about why they'd applied the fraud marker. They said that Ms M's account had received £800 - and they'd been told by the bank the money had come from that the transfer was fraudulent. The money had been withdrawn the same day using Ms M's card and PIN.
The bank said that when they'd phoned Ms M about the transactions, she'd told them that the money had originally come from a "friend of a friend". Because of this, the bank believed Ms M was involved in the fraud. So they felt closing the account and reporting the issue to the Cifas had been appropriate actions.
We then asked Ms M's mother about what had happened. She said she hadn't known these details until her daughter's complaint had been brought to us. But she said that at the time of the transaction, Ms M had been experiencing severe bullying in college, including having her personal possessions stolen, and was under the care of the local community mental health team for anxiety and depression. She said that if her daughter had got caught up in fraud, it was likely to have been under duress.
Mrs M and Ms M agreed that we could share this information with the bank. In the circumstances, they agreed that to help Ms M get things back on track, they'd remove her name from the Cifas database - although not from the bank's own records.
So while she wouldn't be able to bank with them again, she should be able to get an account elsewhere. We explained this to Ms M and her mother, who were pleased to accept the offer.

**Emma1994** · 17th January 2019, 16:00:PM

Yes it was transferred to him via bank transfer also which he said was his savings account, I guess to keep me under the impression he was unable to use his own account to do it himself.

I’ve used checkmyfile which shows no CIFA markers reported by crediva, Experian, callcredit and Equifax but looking at other posts I can see that it may not always show on these, only when you request access to your file.

Thank you I will have a good read through all of the things you’ve sent.

I know you obviously don’t have access to all the information you need but in your opinion you would definitely recommend appealing the marker/ putting in a complaint?

Yes i’m also hopeful that the fact they re opened the account the first time and didn’t warn me will help some what

**Amethyst** · 17th January 2019, 16:06:PM

It can't hurt and you definitely won't get anywhere if you do nothing. For now you just need to find out exactly what marker, if any, has been put against you. You've asked CIFAS for the info already, so while you wait for them to come back to you get a Subject Access Request Letter off to your bank and see what it shows about the account closure.

**Emma1994** · 17th January 2019, 16:19:PM

Okay thank you I will definitely do that. I forgot to answer your question previously, yes I did manage to get a current account with ThinkMoney which costs me £17 per month but i’m just so relieved to actually get one as no other high street bank would accept me.

Thanks again for for your help

Cat 6 CIFA’s marker