Checking your bank statement

I check my online banking every day. We have had one or two strange withdrawals in the past which we’ve sorted out.

Thank you for the reminder. I always check my statements.
Some time ago, I saw one that I didn't recognise, and rang the bank. They said this was a legitimate 'shopping club' that I had signed up for - I knew I didn't.
They then explained that when ordering from some sites, there is a button that signs you up to one of these sites - they had a number of customers with stories such as mine. They thought that it was probably easy either to 'fat finger' or even get confused by a double negative; they frequently had to stop payments such as this.
Theoretically they shopping club would have emailed me - but if it went into spam I wouldn't have opened it. I was down one payment of £15 - almost impossible to prove that I hadn't signed up.

Thanks for the warning NanKate.

I never use my debit card except to withdraw cash - it’s too easy for your bank details to be captured and sold on and potentially your account emptied. I always use my credit card, I have never been told that I must use my debit card in a shop ‘to initialise it’.

I recently changed to Nationwide so this advice is timely. thank you.

You should always check your spam emails Nannarose. Opening them does no harm, just don’t click on any links.

I found 2 payments on my online statement, one for 'jasmine' and the other for 'Russian Bitcoins', which of course rang alarm bells for me and also for Barclays who had blocked my account already. The fraud department were very efficient, but waiting for a new debit card was a nuisance.
Worrying isn't it?

I check my bank statements meticulously - I have so many Direct Debits and Standing orders to keep an eye on.
Like GSM everything goes on my Credit Card and I only use my Debit Card in branch to withdraw cash once a month.

Germanshepherdsmum

I never use my debit card except to withdraw cash - it’s too easy for your bank details to be captured and sold on and potentially your account emptied. I always use my credit card, I have never been told that I must use my debit card in a shop ‘to initialise it’.

I have never been told that I must use my debit card in a shop ‘to initialise it

Me neither.

I've had two debit cards, and didn't have to do anything to activate either of them. Just had to wait for the PIN to arrive separately.

I can only assume that the thinking is that if you physically go into a shop and use the card it is less likely to be a fraudulent transaction than one undertaken online, and the bank knows that you are in possession of the new card?

I never use my debit card for purchases either physically or online.

two different banks' debit cards received recently.
with both was instructed had to use first time with PIN, to prove correct user i suppose,
thereafter can do contactless payments.

OP, thanks for the reminder to scrutinise statements.

NanKate
Can I ask why you don’t have online banking. If you did you could check your a/c as many times a day as you want instead of waiting a week.
Your bank account could have been wiped out in that week.

I still get a paper bank statement and I check every entry every month. Always have, always will.

I do exactly the same with my credit cards, one of which is on line.

Over the years we had our details leaked, although not recently and we have always picked up the dodgy entry within days.

I once had my mortgage payments cancelled in a bank mix up. I picked it up on my statement, immediately contacted the bank and had it all sorted before they had time to register it as a potential default

I think anyone who doesn't monitor where there money is going, deserves everything they get.

If anyone is interested in how huge ( and I mean HUGE) this scamming industry is, watch Hunting the Catfish Crime Gang on Iplayer.
Forget pokey little sheds in Nigeria or India. Far East countries are building complexes to accommodate the workers some have been prisoners bought from the prisons to work in these complexes.

We get a monthly paper statement and don't bank on line. I check it thoroughly and always have done.

Thanks NanKate - I too had a similar experience- payments made to random people, I haven’t even heard of. Yes, be warned !!

MerylStreep

NanKate
Can I ask why you don’t have online banking. If you did you could check your a/c as many times a day as you want instead of waiting a week.
Your bank account could have been wiped out in that week.

My bank queries payments made to 'unknown' account holders.

And asks me to verify purchases online with a code - even if it's a company I've been using for years.

M0nica

I still get a paper bank statement and I check every entry every month. Always have, always will.

I do exactly the same with my credit cards, one of which is on line.

Over the years we had our details leaked, although not recently and we have always picked up the dodgy entry within days.

I once had my mortgage payments cancelled in a bank mix up. I picked it up on my statement, immediately contacted the bank and had it all sorted before they had time to register it as a potential default

I think anyone who doesn't monitor where there money is going, deserves everything they get.

I do exactly the same with my credit cards, one of which is on line.

I wish the CC statements were more specific.

Instead of just stating 'Amazon mktplce' - an order number would be helpful.

Of course, you can always identify the amount but if you make several purchases which have been lumped together and then charged separately because they were delivered at different times, it can be confusing.

Because of this, I now always purchase items separately from Amazon, and never just 'add to basket'.

Hello Meryl. We do most things online but DH doesn’t fancy online banking.

We have put a maximum spend on our Barclaycard, the one we use the most so if it was cleared out it wouldn’t be a disaster.

Your Barclaycard is, I assume, a credit card? It’s a debit card which poses the risk of your bank account being cleared out, so never use it except to withdraw cash at the ATM or PO.

Yes Germanshepherdsmum. Debit cards are the ones to be wary of.

I keep a balance of £100 on my debit card at all times and simply transfer in the exact amount when any dds are due. I visit the hole in the wall for mini statements regularly. I also run a spreadsheet for all my transactions. Finance was my background so this is second nature (even enjoyable!) to me. so far so good.........

I was scammed on my PayPal account which seemed to have set up an automatic pay out system which I had not signed to. It was a carvery place in America! It was for £24.00. I immediately told PayPal who have reimbursed me and stopped any automatic charges. I check all my debit cards, pay pal and credit cards several times a day

The joy of an online banking app is that I can check my account very regularly, and I get an alert when money goes in or out.
I pay almost entirely by phone wallet, and that has the advantage of showing a list of recent transactions instantly.

I've only ever been stolen from once, and that was long ago when credit card company sent me a early, unsolicited and unexpected replacement card through the post. It was physically stolen and used to by lots of petrol. I knew nothing until the statement rolled in.