Should I give out my Bank Details?

bucketybuck

Just wondering what the common consensus is on giving bank details out to people? Obviously I am not talking about Nigerian scammers or the like, but to what could be genuine people in everyday situations. Let me give an example.

I sometimes organise outings for a group of people, random things like doing climbing on a Saturday morning, or Go-karting, things like that. Its a big group so I don't know everybody, but it is an established group that has been going for a while. When there is a fee involved generally what I do is tell everybody to send me the money through Paypal, then I pay the company involved one lump sum. This way all I have to give people is my email address, they use that to make payment to me.

This morning I got an email from a member I haven't met before, asking me to pass on my bank details so she could transfer to me the money for an upcoming event. It sounds perfectly legitimate, people often don't have Paypal accounts, but my cynical side tells me I should never give my bank details to anybody. Am I being too cautious here? Do people still give out bank details for bank transfers and the like? What should I be worried about, if anything?

Xavi6

Yes you're being too cautious. They can do feck all worth worrying about with just a sort code and account number.

Artful_Badger

Takes 2 minutes to set up a paypal account though.

Maximus Alexander

If you want me to find out if this is safe for you, just send me you bank account number and your sort code and I'll get back to you.

Also, on an unrelated note, what is your mother's maiden name and did you have pets growing up? What were their names?

TireeTerror

I remember Jermey Clarkson going on about this a while ago in his weekly column. He was saying it was stupid top be paranoid about giving out an account number and sortcode, and to prove it he printed his details in the article. Shortly afterwards he reported that he was wrong and that he had to change his account due to being signed up for some kind of charity!

EDIT : Here is the story. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7174760.stm

super_furry

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7174760.stm

Duckjob

Artful_Badger wrote: »

Takes 2 minutes to set up a paypal account though.

They don't need a paypal account setup to pay. From his/her paypal, OP can just email them a payment request with a link, they can just click the link and pay with their CC.

In general though, I wouldnt be concerned with giving my sortcode and bank a/c no in cases such as this.

Renegade Mechanic

Give your details to no-one, bucketybuck. Ask her to give you cash instead but dont give anything out.

ImDave

Loads of businesses put their account details at the bottom of invoices, and charities advertise them in papers and on TV.

The only way for someone to get money out of your account with a sort code and account number is by producing ID in-branch. Not 100% secure as you are relying on a person to be on the ball, but still. Its perfectly fine to give out your details I believe.

Also - if you are really worried, perhaps you have a second account/old bank account to which you could give the details to. Then withdraw the money completely once everyone has paid in.

UCDVet

Here's how it works - 100% honest....

If you are concerned about your privacy and worried about who has access to your information, you're a paranoid troublemaker. If a company loses your information, you shouldn't worry because, it's all harmless. You're just a crazy loon.

Until someone steals your identity, accesses your account, does something fraudulent using that information. Then, the same people who told you, 'Don't be paranoid!' will tell you, 'Well, what did you think would happen? You should have closed your account as soon as you heard your bank info was leaked!!!'

A lot of people like telling others they are wrong. It makes them feel smug.

At least the Top Gear Host was forthcoming about his being wrong.

Duckjob

ImDave wrote: »

The only way for someone to get money out of your account with a sort code and account number is by producing ID in-branch. Not 100% secure as you are relying on a person to be on the ball, but still.

If someone comes into a bank trying to withdraw cash using my account no, claiming to be me, and if the bank gives them cash without verifying their identity, then as far as I'm concerned, that's the bank giving their own money away, not mine. I'm pretty sure a court would see it that way too.

On a related note, people trying to withdraw cash over the counter in their bank and getting upset at the bank requiring ID before handing out cash - WTF !

weldoninhio

Have you ever paid someone you didn't know with a cheque OP? That has your sort code and a/c number. It's common for people to make bank transfers. Maybe set up a new account to be used solely for transfers in? If this is a regular thing or you are worried.

keithclancy

Just give me your bank account details and sort code and we will wire you the monies directly ... :D:D

bucketybuck

weldoninhio wrote: »

Have you ever paid someone you didn't know with a cheque OP? That has your sort code and a/c number. It's common for people to make bank transfers. Maybe set up a new account to be used solely for transfers in? If this is a regular thing or you are worried.

I do know that the same details are on a cheque (not that I ever use cheques:)), and I'm not really worried that I am going to be caught out in this case, but as I say I would rarely use bank details so I was just wondering what things I should be wary off.

Duckjob wrote: »

They don't need a paypal account setup to pay. From his/her paypal, OP can just email them a payment request with a link, they can just click the link and pay with their CC.

Thanks for this, I didn't know I could do this with Paypal, I will just do this going forward!

Wabbit Ears

If you are regularly accepting money then you should have an account for this purpose. I'd never give my current or similar account out.

Edit, to add, you really shouldn't be doing your paypal etc from your own account if you are acting as intermediary to prevent any hint of a 'it was just resting in my account' scenarios.

Balmed Out

Most invoice's these days includes the companies / sole traders etc bank account number and sort code so if there was a lot someone could do with that I think wed have heard about it.

imtdub

As one of the posters said above, majority of firms have their bank details on invoices. You can't do much with just the sort code and a/c no. The most people can do is transfer money into your account, which I suppose is not a bad thing. Also the charity which signed Jeremy was being bold and cheeky.

On a separate note though, people should refrain from updating every detail of their life on facebook, as in place of birth, school name, etc.

thefinalstage

Why don't you just set up a second bank account for the group to pay into?

Alun

Somebody had better tell the entire German nation (plus Holland and many other EU countries too), where paying bills and/or personal debts by direct transfer to bank accounts is commonplace, how dangerous it is.

Every time you write someone a cheque you're going them the exact same information, i.e. Bank and branch name and address, bank sort code and account name and number, so do you worry about that too?

bucketybuck

Alun wrote: »

Somebody had better tell the entire German nation (plus Holland and many other EU countries too), where paying bills and/or personal debts by direct transfer to bank accounts is commonplace, how dangerous it is

I wonder what thread you are reading, I never said it was dangerous.

Alun

bucketybuck wrote: »

I wonder what thread you are reading, I never said it was dangerous.

I'm reading the exact same thread as you ... I refer to the title of your thread "Should I give out my bank details?" If you didn't consider that there might be some danger attached to doing so, why would you bother asking if you should do it then?

meemeemee

I don't think that the giving out of the Account and Sort Code is a really a problem. Clarkson has a lot of haters, so probably somebody made a huge effort to wind him up, but with the Nigerian scammers, asking for the bank details was really a test to see if they had found anyone gullible or foolish enough worth targeting with more time and effort. They could not actually do anything with it. They never actually were able to take money from the accounts, it was the scammed people were actually sending them money so the safety deposit box company would open the vault and so on.

hardCopy

Be careful using PayPal to collect money for a group. They're liable to close your account down without warning if they think you're operating a business.

scamalert

you dont need full paypal setup,as it takes week or so to be confirmed,but if someone doesn't have registered,they only need to enter their details and amount will be credited from their cc account,instantly. most cards nowadays have chip protection,so its almost impossible to fake a card,but if you slip your 3 digit code of the back of your cc or debit card with front details,good amount of damage can be done online by ordering stuff and redirecting it somewhere else,or what not.

bucketybuck

hardCopy wrote: »

Be careful using PayPal to collect money for a group. They're liable to close your account down without warning if they think you're operating a business.

Yeah I got a message about that a few weeks ago, asking me to confirm details because transactions had went over a certain limit. I should be ok though, its only a few hundred euro two or three times a year.