Am I being lied to?

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My gut reaction is that your mother should advise the bank that the g/f doesn’t live at her address

Don't take the risk, there are so many scams happening to the elderly these days and this might be something you and your family wish you had done something about.

You don't have to be mentally incapacitated to be scammed by criminals who think they have found an opportunity to steal money. They think OAPs have money they need and aim to transfer it to them. Sadly it is usually a family member. They are more likely to have access to details while visiting/ staying. It is awful when they pretend the OAP is forgetful and the details were given to them. Or they were given the card o shop when it's a lie.

Let the bank know the card has nothing to do with the address. Your mother will be getting all the warnings about these scams and must be very worried. Ask the GF to never do it again

Yes. You've got it wrong, or rather you read it wrong.

I said she can print off her OWN online copies as proof of address even if the OP is destroying the originals, and use them ad proof of address to obtain other things.

notanan2
Bank statements and other ID such as utility bills, have to be current ie: issued during the preceding 3 months.
No-one can print out someone else's bills or statements...unless, of course, they have access tothe other persons multi-layered bank/utility passwords and other security data.
If I've got this wrong, please let me know.

Can also be used to give false DBS info

With a bank statement as proof of continuous resident (copies can be printed off the internet so dont have to be given the originals by the REAL addressees, you can use that to go on to make false claims and other applications.

It might not be money laundering but might be NHS fraud. Common in the ex pat community: fake a permanent residence in the UK so you can nip back for free NHS treatment that youre not entitled to as and when. Same goes for benefits

An older girlfriend ( or boyfriend) like this sounds like trouble and needs to be kept at a distance. If there is any attempt at money laundering through bank accounts it is stupid and will get found out, but there are always scams and personal scams you should be watching for.
UK nationals get away with very little nowadays, it's the operators in less regulated countries that profit most.

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Sounds a bit like my dgs xgf. A letter arrived at my house 6 months after they had split up. Have to admit I broke the law (illegal to open mail not addressed to you) and opened it. It was a default letter on her car loan. She had never lived with us. Managed to blag on phone, that was just phoning company on envelope, as didn’t want my address black listed. They couldn’t talk about it but accepted that she hadn’t stayed with us. No way she could ever have (legally) had proof she stayed at my address, but she still got loan!!

Pearl79 I really don't think it's anything as bad a money laundering.

She has done things that I feel are dishonest...think leaving a restaurant without paying the bill.

nb: think about why you need to give an address, and proof, when you open a bank account. it's all part of money laundering. so will the bank/authorities be happy? and to whose doorstep will they beat a path if illegal actions ensue?

if anything untoward happens relating to this account it will go against the address as well as girlfriend's name, and could cause endless hassle in the future, for your mother, and even for selling the house. it can take ages (months - even years) to get such things removed from the records.
if girlfriend had asked politely things might have been different! think in terms of holding a party in someone's home - you wouldn't do it without asking first!
i agree - tell the bank. but put it in writing and keep a copy with your important documents.

Davidhs - Young people do silly things mostly unknowing

I think perhaps the fact she is my son's gf gives the impression that she is quite young, this is not the case. It has also been established that this was done knowingly.

MargaretX - It is possible to have UK a bank account when living abroad but it helps if you set it up beforehand with a UK address, then have them transfer letters etc to an address abroad.
That is obviously what the girlfriend wanted to do

I don't think that is what she wanted to do, otherwise she would just have had her current UK bank account transfered from her UK address to her foreign address, rather than open this additional account at my DM's address.

Any money would have been taken from her account and not from the mothers account

No-one has suggested that she has taken any money from my DM's account, or plans to do so.

You had no right to cut the card up it was not your card

I didn't cut the card up, I told her that so that she would stop pressuring me to send it to her, although the bank have replied to my email and have told me to destroy it.

if the girlfriend is over 18 everything she did is OK.

She is much, much older than 18. Clearly we have different views of what is ok.

Its quite usual for several people to have bank accounts all living at the same address.

She doesnt live there

That is obviously what the girlfriend wanted to do.
Is it? Much more likely she wanted to fake evidence of residency IMO

It is possible to have UK a bank account when living abroad but it helps if you set it up beforehand with a UK address, then have them transfer letters etc to an address abroad.
That is obviously what the girlfriend wanted to do.
Any money would have been taken from her account and not from the mothers account. Its quite usual for several people to have bank accounts all living at the same address.

You had no right to cut the card up it was not your card and if the girlfriend is over 18 everything she did is OK.
Any irregularities are to be sorted out by the bank.

NudeJude
I don't buy that story.
If she doesn't use the internet, why does she have PayPal?
You write that her original card was lodged with PayPal but anyone with a PP account can go onto the PayPal website (or app) and change their bank details themselves.
Once a card is stopped and a new card issued by ANY bank, any previous card is immediately null and void so PayPal would not have been able to withdraw any money whatsoever IF and only IF the account had been closed due to fraudulent activity and a new account opened and money transferred.
It's obvious that she did not tell the bank about the fraud, merely asked for a new card, in which case, the account number and sort code would remain the same hence PayPal being able to continue withdrawing money.
It's the fault of the account holder.
Someone cannot take money from an ATM without the card and PIN. She must have given the PIN to someone together with the card or the card was stolen and the thief knew or was given the PIN.
The fault is hers.

Dont cut it up or dump it etc, reseal it and return it to sender with addressee not at this address on it

Accepting the post in the first place is enough to associate you in some cases.

Mmmm, not sure about this, as the card has not been activated I would cut it up and dump it, but I don't think I would go any further. Certainly not Police or Credit Reference, if my son was the boyfriend I would probably mention it to him. Young people do silly things mostly unknowing and that girl may become your DIL, not a good idea to assume the worst.

Nonnie if opening someone's mail is a crime, who do you report it to? When I sold my house, my buyer opened Christmas cards addressed to me but I had not got round to informing everyone. I asked for them to be handed to a neighbour for re-directing but they never did. The police and Citizen's Advice directed me to the Post Office who shrugged their corporate shoulders..

It sounds like a fraud. You could report her to the Police and Action Fraud 0300 1232040. It is highly likely that she has done this before. With regard to whether opening the mail is an offence you decide - the relevant part of the Postal Services Act 2000 is replicated below - I reckon you have a reasonable excuse.

84
Interfering with the mail: general.
(1)
A person commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, he—
(a)
intentionally delays or opens a postal packet in the course of its transmission by post, or
(b)
intentionally opens a mail-bag.
(2)
Subsections (2) to (5) of section 83 apply to subsection (1) above as they apply to subsection (1) of that section.
(3)
A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him.
(4)
Subsections (2) and (3) of section 83 (so far as they relate to the opening of postal packets) apply to subsection (3) above as they apply to subsection (1) of that section.
(5)
A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (3) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.