08453512262

I received one of these automated calls today, purporting to be from Barclays Fraud Prevention... Of course I didn't believe that Barclays would be foolish enough to use this sort of automated system for flagging up possible fraudulent transactions - who in their right mind would possibly put themselves at risk of id theft or fraud by giving out personal details to an incoming automated phone call?!?

However, having rung through to Barclays via the number on the back of my card, I was given the direct dial number of their fraud department (which is 0800 389 1652 btw) and they confirmed that the new automated detection system had tried to call me - and they were even able to confirm the time they had tried! To make a long story short, after enquiring where I was, it was confirmed that someone had skimmed my card and was trying to use it abroad. (As you can imagine I am now going through my receipts from the past week to try to figure out where the theiving b*****d who was trying to use my card did this little skimming procedure!)

I have the joyful prospect of wading through the necessary paperwork to try to claim back the money from the fraudulent transactions, as well as the inconvenience of having my card blocked and waiting for a new card to arrive - nicely timed to coincide with the royal mail postal strike! :(

If you do receive one of these calls, please do contact Barclays fraud department straight away!!!

this number called my home number then mobile whilst on my way home. did not
reply but googled number, and here i am!!
phoned barclay's fraud dept via another number, after being cut off then put on hold then lost, i got through to be informed that a parasite had used my card twice for a small amount which cleared before going for the big one today, which was blocked thanks to barclays fraud dept.
i would recommend you make contact asap
ps if you get cut off like i did (at 9pm) the fraud dept is open from 7am-11pm!
 THANKS TO THE FRAUD DEPT FOR THE PROMT CONTACT.

I work for Barclays and it is a genuine call! All members of staff should be aware that Barclays now have an automated dialling out service!! It was brought out last month and was cascaded to all staff.

Like all the other commentors I was sceptical about calling this number but am glad I did.  My card had  been fraudulently used for the second time this year, this time in India!!!  If you are unsure then ring 0845 755 5555 instead but in my experience the number 08453512262 is totally genuine. It's aggrovating that now I have to wait for a new card but I'm gald I returned the call to 0845 351 2262!!
THANK YOU BARCLAYS FRAUD TEAM!

I agree, this is Barclays fraud department.  After reading this I called the number and the guy I spoke to at the other end (the automated service couldn't trace my phone number) told me exactly what had gone wrong on my account.

R

I had a call from this number half an hour aga and phoned the bank straight away to check the authenticity and it was the fraud department just checking a few small transactions I'd made to make sure they weren't being made by a fruadster.

i just recieved a call from this mumber a few minutes ago, i didnt give any details and googled the number and found this page, i dont even have an account with barclays, how can u explain that?

The number is not genuine - DO NOT ANSWER any of the Questions, HANG UP and phone your branch!!!!

Those claiming the number is real are b*lls*ttiers!!!!

I disagree with the last comment.
HOWEVER! If you do receive this call and you choose not to answer I can guarantee that you will receive this call again. IF you are wary then after the first call, just hang up and go to your local branch and ask.

I do this it is poor for them to call with an automated service, the main part of it will be them reading the 4 most recent transactions from your card (including the one they believe to be a fraud) - IF one of them is you will be put through to speak to somebody who will then go through things, cancel your card and send a new one.

But as I said, if it doubt then just go to your local branch.

Got this and it was a genuine Barclays thing. The problem stemmed from easyJet's new website which confuses Visa Debit with Visa Electron. easyJet would only accept my details if I choose "Electron" instead of the correct "Debit" option. I am betting I'm not the only one to have had this problem...

Not to impressed with it being fully automated though. I was highly suspicious until about 50% through the process.

THIS IS A SCAM!

I phoned Barclays to confirm that they DO NOT use an automated fraud prevention number. Here's what set off my suspicions:

1. If you type the phone number into google, only 3 results come up. 2 are websites where people report suspicious callers and the third is a list of phone numbers that spammers use (08453512262 is on the list). Note that Barclays does not appear!

2. Each fraud costs Barclays hundreds of pounds to reimburse, I'm sure they can afford the extra 50p or so to make a real call. Furthermore it is incredibly unprofessional to use an automated service for things of this matter, Barclays would not want to damage their reputation.

3. If you don't press any key when prompted, it hangs up! If you do press a key then most likely either your phone number gets put on a 'suckers list' or you get connected to a premium rate number where they try to prise confidential information from you.

Trust your suspicions- just because they get your name and bank correct it doesn't mean they're legit. It's hardly secret.. heck, even my postman knows that information from delivering my statements!

Oh... another reason why Barclays would never switch to an automated system like this:

Unsolicited automated telephone calls are notoriously used by scammers. When people hear a recorded message on the phone they just hang up. If Barclays were to use one of these then it would make it much easier for scammers to con people into thinking their recorded phone messages are legitimate. Hence Barclays would lose significantly more money to fraudsters than what they would saved from employing real people.

Think back... can you remember a time when you received an automated call which wasn't a scam or spam? I can't!

it's worth mentioning that the first person to post here 'baglady' says that if you are suspicious then phone The Barclays Fraud department, and then gives a number of a similar telephone scam (0800 389 1652). Barclays real fraud number is 0845 7555 555 (looks much more legit right?). Of course, don't take my word for it, check out Barclays website!

Makes sense when you think about it... the first person to post on this website is going to be the scammer, trying to convince you that his dodgy number is alright.

You are not going to believe it... it really was Barclays. I still can't believe it.

After all the good reasons I gave as to why they would never implement an automated service, it appears they actually did. I only found out when I couldn't pay for goods in a shop because they had frozen my card and then had to spend 15-20 minutes phoning their national rate fraud number!

Needless to say, Barclays have shown themselves to be totally incapable of handling my money. They froze my main account (which I get my wages paid into) with no effort to contact me first! Needless to say I will be withdrawing most of my money from there as soon as possible.

However if you do receive a similar automated message claiming to be from Barclays on the phone, DO NOT give any details, because it is only a short matter of time before fraudsters start impersonating these messages.

Yep happened to me today, got call at 3.41 pm, didn't trust number so instantly contacted telphone banking fraud dept not open on sunday i was told, who informed me that a transaction For £31 was attempted for vodaphone [i'm orange]

Phone number is legit so It's best to act fast,I have only ever been the victim of card theft once before and that happened after i used my card details to purchase an item over the phone a year or two back then after a couple of days someone used my card number to purchase items, now it has happened again a few days after i paid a gas bill over the phone, coincidence i think not..

Btw chris makes an excellent point about this automated number, and the way fraudsters will soon catch on and start spamming everybody.

This is Barclays fraud department, it's an absurd way of getting hold of people but it DEFINITELY is the fraud department. The number called me today and i refused to carry on the call because it sounded dodgy, i rang them on the direct number and they just wanted to verify some transactions.

This number is an automated number from Barclays. I called 0845 7555 555 and they checked some transactions.

Definitely Barclays.

I didn't believe it the first 6 times they rang (both landline and mobile numbers of mine) but after reading some posts here I took a calculated risk and heard out the automated lady. Read on if you're not sure...

My boring story:

After confirming your name, choosing your month/year of birth via multiple choice, and dialing your day of birth, said automated lady tells you of a number of recent transactions and details the name of the payee, a short description of them if available, and the date. You are then given the option to confirm if the transactions are known. Otherwise, if you are unsure or believe them to be fraudulent you can be put through to the Fraud department (open until 5pm on a Saturday and closed Sundays on 01604 252999, given to me by a call centre agent).

I didn't dare go through the auto-attendant at first so I had phoned Barclays (0845 7555555). I was cut off for one reason or another so I rang back and was connected to a foreign country. The gentleman I spoke to put me through to a 'We are closed, bugger off' answer message and I was cut off once more. I then got bored and watched football. A few hours later the phone started ringing again so I came here.

In my case all the transactions were genuine (I had various cash withdrawals, eBay payments, parking payments etc. in Lancashire and Yorkshire). I pressed the option to confirm this, Robot-Woman thanked me, phone went dead, and I truly felt I had lost a friend.

In all seriousness, if you dare not use this automated service then you cannot be blamed particularly in this day and age where fraud, Phishing, and identity theft has boomed. If you're still not sure simply ring the advertised Barclays contact numbers for peace of mind. Stay vigilant always (but this number is Genuine!).