How risky is it to give my bank account details to a stranger?

Factual Questions
1

Possibly an incredibly naive question, but here’s the situation:

I have two rooms for rent in “my” house. That is to say, I’ve advertised for roommates. (I rent.) If these rooms aren’t filled by the first, I have to come up with $800 extra to cover the difference, which is not something I can afford to do.

One of the responses to my ad seems quite promising, and from e-mail correspondance I think she would be a good fit. She is (or at least represents herself convincingly as) a German exchange student who has been studying in Calgary. She has an internship in Vancouver, starting in May.

The problem is, she won’t be here until the 30th, and says she has no CDN bank account, so she wouldn’t be able to pay until she got here.

I’d like to suggest that I provide her with my account number, and she take the deposit to a branch of my bank in Calgary. I’ve done this sort of thing before – it’s the preferred way of sending money around in my family. But it’s one thing to exchange bank account information with your siblings and another thing altogether when you’re talking about someone you’ve only had e-mail contact with.

I’m inclined to trust this person. It’s not like she’s soliciting for the information. Apart from the genuine feel of her correspondence, I did a little digging and have found evidence online (in German) that there is an exchange student by her name, in the field she specified, who’s just finishing up a scholarship at the University of Calgary. The company she said she secured an internship at seems to be all about internships.

So this seems like a simple solution.

Does giving someone my account number, transit info, and name open me up to any serious liability?

I’m waffling between paranoia and naivete, here. I think I’m being paranoid, but…

What’s the real risk? Can anyone do anything nasty with that information?

2

I have a friend who was suckered into a telemarketing scam where she gave her account number out over the phone and they cleaned out her account. When she went to the police they said an account number was just like a credit card number. It may vary by country and state though.

3

Call your bank. We give out our bank info to overseas customers so they can wire transfer to us all the time. Just call your bank manager and tell her/him what you are doing and they should be able to flag your account for wire transfer deposits only, or they may have a better solution. You know you can trust your bank manager and they are in the business of money and will know the best and safest way to do what you want to do, so it makes a lot of sense to call them.

4

If she is in Calgary now (not in Germany), why don’t you ask her to purchase a Money Order and mail it to you? No need for her to have a bank account, or for you to give out any account info.

5

I am currently wrestling with being the victim of identity theft, and apparantly the perpetrator had a lot less to go on than all my banking information.

Play it safe. Get a money order or certified check (or whatever the equivalent is in Canada.)

6

There is a risk, but you give out similar information every time you send a check. Given that this is your idea, and the fact that she otherwise seems to be on the level, I wouldn’t worry too much. (I’d be much more concerned if she originated the idea.)

The money order/cashier’s check idea isn’t bad, either. (A certified check is something different. As a practical matter, she’d have to have a bank account to get a check certified.)

7

You could get her to send you the money through PayPal. That’s pretty safe (in my experience).

8

Is there a reason that certified check or money order have been ruled out?

9

I’d have absolutely no problem giving her my account info. I’d even post my own account info in this thread if I didn’t think a mod might delete it.

Some people (not saying the OP is included in this group) are way too concerned about identity theft. Sure it happens, but not that much, and it doesn’t mean you go broke, it just means you have to make some phone calls and do some boring stuff to clean it up.

You know, when you write a check to someone, you give them all of the information that you are proposing to give to this girl. I presume you don’t have any problem writing checks to people since you have a checking account.

10

Is there in fact a mechanism by which someone knowing your bank name and account number can use this to defraud you/steal your identity? I ask because here in Germany companies (and self-employed individuals) put this information in their letterhead so people can send money to that account. Does anyone accept your knowing your bank account number as proof of identity?

11

It’s not proof of identity, exactly. But your account can still be drained with this information. First, that’s the information that the Nigerian scammers use against you. I can’t say I’m familiar with exactly how they do it, but it involves a wire transfer to some offshore bank.

I am very familar with another way this information can be used. With the account and bank identification numbers, the scammer uses off the shelf check writing software to generate fake checks, magnetic ink coding included. Those checks are cashed, usually by a number of lowlifes recruited by the ringleader, and usually at currency exchanges. The lowlifes either have fake IDS or use their own. (Remember, the scammer can make the check payable to any name he chooses.) Ultimately, the checks are charged to your account. If you catch this right away after getting your statement, and report it to your bank, it should recredit your account. If you don’t report it right away (maybe you’re on vacation, or not particularly diligent about examining your monthly statement), you’re on the hook. (Cites available on request.) Even if you do promptly report it, it may be a while before the bank completes an investigation and gives you your $$ back.

12

Eh. You also give your credit card number to every pizzaboy, cashier, and gas station attendant who swipes your card for you. Would you give your credit card number out at random?

I dont know how knowing a bank account can get you access, but my friend fell victim to it and lost several hundred dollars.

Either way, she sounds trustworthy i would probably give her my bank account number. If you’re not willing to i would get an international money order or ask her to set up a paypal (or some other instant transfer method) if i were you. Why not wire the money.

13

You must be the only computer user on Earth who hasn’t been asked to help transfer millions of dollars for a former Grand High Muckitymuck of Nigeria. :slight_smile:

14

Victim of identity theft checking in.

I’d guess that it took about 30 hours to straighten out the mess. For example, I had to sign about 10 affidavits saying that, no, those credit cards were not ordered by me.

To this day, my credit record still contains the bogus address: in practice it is impossible to purge, though it does little damage.

Admittedly, the crime occurred during the 1980s: maybe the process has been streamlined since then.

15

I don’t believe that. Your friend isn’t telling the whole story.

Anybody can drain your account and all they need is the account number?

The bank makes no attempt to keep this number secure. Hell, it’s on every check you write.
When you put money in an account, you are expecting the bank to keep it reasonably secure. Giving your money to anyone who provides the account number doesn’t make sense.

16

If I had to guess, I’d say whoever stole the money most likely used the account number (along with the bank’s routing number) to forge personal checks and simply filled them out. I’d bet if Wesley’s friends went through his cancelled checks, he’d find one or more that he never wrote. Banks aren’t in the habit of lookign too closely at checks that they process. As long as the document has machine-readable MICR printing and the information is filled out correctly (numeric amount matching written amount, signed and endorsed, etc.), it will go right through.

17

As I explained previously, and as Q.E.D. has now repeated, it can be done.
Cite: http://www.rsplaw.com/newsletter/checkfraud.html

(Okay, okay. I admit this ain’t all that different than “my post is my cite”.)

What I said in the link about the fraud involving facsimile payroll checks can also be done to a personal checking account, although it’s easier to spot in that instance.)