does providing account number and transit number compromise my money

[oldoboy]

hello,

I provided my account number and transit number to somebody to send me money.

I'm worried that they may be able to take money out of my account. Am I at risk? If so, what should I do? and if I need to provide bank details to somebody for them to send me money, what should I do?

[iamtoldtherewillbenomath]

yes it does compromise your account. if you don't know this person very, very well, i'd contact your bank as soon as possible. in fact, i'd contact them even if you do know them well.

if you need to get money from someone you don't know and isn't within a reasonable distance from you, open a paypal account and have them send it to you through paypal so none of your financial details will be disclosed.

or, they can do it the old fashioned way and write you a cheque. or pay cash in person.

[AllWheelDrift]

yes it does compromise your account. if you don't know this person very, very well, i'd contact your bank as soon as possible. in fact, i'd contact them even if you do know them well.
I don't think having your account number and transit number comprimises anything.

or, they can do it the old fashioned way and write you a cheque. or pay cash in person.
Well, by your logic, no-one would write anyone they don't trust a cheque because your transit number and account number are on the bottom of the cheque.

[iamtoldtherewillbenomath]

Hi AllWheel, here's a story you may be interested in:

"Brit Posts Bank Account Number, Gets Hacked

The world is filled with daredevils: bungee jumpers, mountain climbers, those crazy guys who get chased by bulls in Spain. However, none of those thrill-seekers hold a candle to British columnist/TV celebrity Jeremy Clarkson. Fearless to the core, Mr. Clarkson decided to publish his own personal bank account number in the paper, confident that no one would be able to do anything with it.

Over the last few months, Mr. Clarkson's colleagues in the British media have been reporting about a massive data loss suffered by HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) -- a department of U.K. government that deals mostly with tax collection. In November, it was revealed that two of the department's discs, containing various data on nearly 25 million individuals, had vanished. The discs were password protected, but not encrypted.

The incident has resulted in board resignations, lawsuits, public outcries for changes to data protection, and more. One of those not overwhelmed or impressed by the massive data loss -- Mr. Clarkson.

As mentioned earlier, convinced that everyone was blowing the situation out of proportion, Clarkson decided to "prove a point" by publishing his bank account number in the newspaper. According to him, the only thing that anyone could do with a bank account number would be deposit more money in the account. (Aww, isn't he cute?).

Needless to say, a point was made.

The following month, his bank statement indicated that his account had been set up to make a direct debit of £500, with the money being given to a charity. Furthermore, because of a U.K. law called the Data Protection Act (DPA), the bank -- and Clarkson -- are prohibited from investigating and determining who set this up. Nor can they prevent it from occurring again, unless, of course, he closes that account and starts up a new one.

It goes without saying I'm fresh out of sympathy for Mr. Clarkson. His "brazen" act smacks of complete and utter naivety of how data theft works, and what exactly can be done with your identity when its stolen. He's very fortunate that the person who used the account information was merely trying to prove a point as well, and pulled a "Robin Hood" by giving a small amount of money to a charity.

But hey, maybe this is how Clarkson lives his life on the edge. No climbing K2 for him. Forget swimming with sharks. Risking his identity is what gets his blood pumping.

You know what? So does exercise."

[joe1487]

or, they can do it the old fashioned way and write you a cheque. or pay cash in person.

What are you talking about? Writing a cheque directly gives someone your account number and transit number, along with your institution number. You can't say on one hand, "Giving someone that information is bad" and on the other hand, "You should write a cheque."

To answer the OP's question, no, there's no harm to it. The same information is at the bottom of every cheque you write.

[iamtoldtherewillbenomath]

oh,ok. the next time the nigerian prince emails asking for my bank account number, i'll hand it over. :lol:

to the OP: if you go to your bank's website or phone in, they will state that if your bank account numbers are accidentally released, they normally give you 5 days to alert them to this situation in order to cover you for any unauthorized transactions.

[the_unknown]

oh,ok. the next time the nigerian prince emails asking for my bank account number, i'll hand it over. :lol:

to the OP: if you go to your bank's website or phone in, they will state that if your bank account numbers are accidentally released, they normally give you 5 days to alert them to this situation in order to cover you for any unauthorized transactions.

This makes absolutely no sense... the Nigerian comment is totally unrelated. People sign waivers and bank documents, handing their money over to the scammer, the scammer can do zip with just your account number.

You can't around saying "write a cheque" and then go on some rant that giving your account number is unsafe, you do realize the MICR section of a cheque has your full account number?

And your advertisement for Paypal was also unwarranted. I'm pretty sure the receiving person likes to pay 4% service charges.

I'd much rather give my bank account number to someone than use Paypal- that's an organization who I wouldn't give my bank account information to.

[dealtacular]

I think going out of your way to provide people your account numbers is a bit risky (such as publishing it in a newspaper), but giving it out for someone to make a deposit is relatively harmless, but there is still a risk.

The article above was pretty prominant in the media, so I would not be surprised if an insider set that up to embarrass the columnist, it could have even been a bank employee who intentionally let that go through.

If you look at many PAD forms, they often ask for your personal information, signature, and banking information - and not always a void cheque - so theoretically, anyone could set up a PAD if they have that information. However, would this be the customer's fault? In the case of the writer, yes to an extent, since he went out of the way to publicize his banking information. While he did not approve the debit, he may have violated his agreement with the bank by not taking reasonable steps to protect his banking information. Normally, the bank would be at fault for accepting a PAD form without following procedures. Most companies submitting PADs are careful, because the bank will attempt to recover any losses from them.

However, as many have pointed out, using cheques is not much better, as your account number is on those too - and even if you just deposit a cheque from someone else, bank staff often write your account number on the back, so if the other client has cheque return, your account number is often released to the other party.

[konfusion666]

iamtoldtherewillbenomath,

Why don't you learn HOW TO READ (preferably the English language) and then come back to this thread?

3 posters above have already shot bullets through your "advice" and you have yet to respond to them.

This isn't the "put fingers in your ears and talk loudly" forum - we are not interested in you spreading misinformation here.

[DanielCarrera]

oh,ok. the next time the nigerian prince emails asking for my bank account number, i'll hand it over. :lol:

to the OP: if you go to your bank's website or phone in, they will state that if your bank account numbers are accidentally released, they normally give you 5 days to alert them to this situation in order to cover you for any unauthorized transactions.

Show me a bank page that says that. This is absurd. Your account number is printed on every cheque. The account number is not secret information.

[4flava]

It is no harm to tell ppl your account number.. they can only deposit money in if they want but cannot take money out without a signed cheque of urs.

[AzNCrAzYcOoLeR]

Show me a bank page that says that. This is absurd. Your account number is printed on every cheque. The account number is not secret information.

As well as the transit number.

Its perfectly fine, its nothing you would announce to everybody, but its needed to deposit money. Withdrawing money would require photoID, confirmation of security questions or a signed cheque.

[heymike]

As already stated, your bank ID, transit, account number are on every single cheque you write. Also, you can go to any bank website to get a transit number.

That guy from top gear had his info submitted for a direct deposit system from a charity (criminals tend not to sign up with banks for these); that transaction could have been reveresed had he requested it of his bank.

[joe1487]

oh,ok. the next time the nigerian prince emails asking for my bank account number, i'll hand it over. :lol:

Well, there is a difference between telling people personal information for a purpose, and broadcasting it out of stupidity. Giving out your account and transit number is as innocuous as giving out your address - but I wouldn't give some stranger my name and address, and likewise I wouldn't give him my banking info.

[DanielCarrera]

Well, there is a difference between telling people personal information for a purpose, and broadcasting it out of stupidity. Giving out your account and transit number is as innocuous as giving out your address - but I wouldn't give some stranger my name and address, and likewise I wouldn't give him my banking info.

I think it's good to distinguish private information from secret information. The daughter of Sarah Palin is pregnant. I'm sure that she would consider this private information and I agree that it is none of anyone's business whether she is pregnant or not. But the information is out - it is not secret.

My name, address, how many kids I have and my bank account number may all be private information for me, but none of that information is secret. Secret information is stuff other people don't know. Private information is stuff you'd rather other people not know. Some times people confuse privacy and secrecy, wih bad results such as:

* Using your SIN number as a password.
* Advicing people not to give out their bank account number.

[halflife150]

That story was from GBR, we may have different banking rules here that would prevent someone from setting up a direct deposit with bank number and transit number. I also have a feeling some fraud was perpetrated or there was lack in the bank's duty of care in setting up that direct deposit. Otherwise anyone who receives a cheque from someone could use that to setup a direct deposit to a charity of their choice and be protected from recourse by the DPA law. I highly doubt there is such a large loophole in UK banking.

[smihaila]

Good point.