An entire street in Cheshire has become the target of a sophisticated fraud operation, with residents discovering that criminals were using their addresses to open bogus bank accounts.
A Growing Sense of Alarm
Paul Harrison, a resident of Warrington for 22 years, first became concerned in January when a mysterious letter from HSBC, clearly containing a bank card, arrived at his home. The letter was addressed to a person neither he nor his wife had ever heard of. He immediately took the suspicious post to his local HSBC branch, where he was advised to simply return it to the sender.
His worries escalated when a second, similar letter arrived just days later, prompting him to contact the bank's fraud department directly. Although he believed the issue was resolved, the flow of post did not stop. His alarm turned to major concern when seven letters were delivered in one go, containing a bank card, a PIN, overdraft limit warnings, and a threat that an outstanding debt might be passed to a credit reference agency.
Neighbours Uncover Wider Scam
Mr Harrison then spoke to his neighbour, Tracy Heaton, who revealed she was facing a similar nightmare. She had received eight letters addressed to two different men who had never lived at her property. Ms Heaton expressed her deep concern, stating she was worried about the implications for her own credit rating.
She contacted HSBC on multiple occasions but felt 'fobbed off', claiming the bank was 'not taking the appropriate action to stop it'. In a state of desperation, she reached out to BBC One's Rip Off Britain programme for assistance.
The Scale of the Operation Revealed
The show's investigation uncovered a startling pattern. At least 12 homes on the same street had been targeted. The fraudulent accounts had all been set up on the same day using common Hungarian names.
Financial crime experts suggest these names could belong to individuals whose identities were stolen, or they may have been 'bought' by money laundering criminals. This is a known tactic where launderers split large sums of cash and transfer them to multiple new accounts to avoid detection by law enforcement. The total amount of money involved in this specific operation remains unknown.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Mr Harrison, Ms Heaton, or any other residents on the street.
Bank Response and Apology
A spokesperson for HSBC stated that the bank carries out physical and digital checks on all account applications. They apologised to Mr Harrison and Ms Heaton, admitting that its response fell below the standard 'customers should expect'.
The bank confirmed it has performed a review and taken action to prevent a recurrence. All the fraudulent accounts linked to the Warrington street have now been closed. HSBC urges anyone who receives mail for someone not living at their address to return it by post or take it to a local branch.
