She claimed that every time she tried to communicate with O2’s customer services team over the phone, she was unable to pass the security steps as she did not know the passwords set up by the fraudster.
Mrs Palmer and her husband Liam were later contacted by debt collectors who threatened to take action.
An O2 spokesperson said: “This account was opened by sophisticated fraudsters using a substantial amount of the victims’ personal data and identity documents which allowed them to successfully pass security and credit checks in one of our stores.”
According to the National Crime Agency, £2.46bn was lost by businesses and individuals, external to fraud in 2021/22.
It said that all cases of fraud should be reported to Action Fraud, external, the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre.
The O2 spokesperson added: “We regularly evolve our processes to keep consumer safe from fraud, and last year alone we prevented £70m of fraudulent activity.”
#Norwich #building #firm #wins #battle #10k #fraud
