17 May 2023

'They were showing up at my mum's house looking for me'

Leeds man endures three-year fraud saga after his wallet is stolen and he falls victim to identity theft

A man whose driving licence was stolen in 2019 has seen his identity repeatedly used to scam others, while he gets the blame from angry victims.

Carwyn Roberts, from Leeds, had his wallet stolen on a Christmas night out in a bar more than three years ago.

Since then, dozens of fraudulent listings for high-value goods have appeared on Facebook Marketplace using his stolen identity.

Victims of those scams have directed their ire at him, wrongly 'outing' him online and even turning up in person to confront him.

There have also been fraudulent attempts to obtain loans and catalogue accounts in his name.

With no end in sight and no solution offered by Facebook or the police, Carwyn has been forced into a state of constant online monitoring and vigilance.

Find out more: how to avoid identity theft

'Where is he?'

Carwyn's stolen wallet contained bank cards that were swiftly cancelled and reissued after fraudulent payment attempts were made – but this was only the beginning of his problems.

The wallet also contained Carwyn's driving licence, which listed his former address at his mother's house in North Wales.

Since January 2020, a scammer in possession of the licence has repeatedly created Facebook accounts in Carwyn's name, with the location set to his mother’s home, posting high-value items for sale and asking for payment by bank transfer.

The scammer promises to send the items by post or courier. To convince potential buyers, he shows them an image of Carwyn's driving licence.

When the items don’t arrive, the buyers sometimes turn up at his mum’s home to confront him. She then has to explain that her son is another victim of the scam.

There have been eight such visits since 2020, while Carwyn is far away in Leeds, powerless to protect her.

One victim even posted a message on a Facebook community page of his mother's village, 'outing' him as a scammer, prompting local friends to come to his defence – but the furious woman could not be persuaded of his innocence.

Report scams using our scams sharer tool.

Loan lies

Carwyn's own financial life has also been targeted, with the scammer first attempting to apply for a loan in his name, only to be thwarted by the provider's security checks.

However, in 2022 the scammer succeeded in opening an online catalogue account with credit, and making a test purchase of socks that arrived at his mother's home and alerted the family to the latest fraud.

That account was closed, but Carwyn and his girlfriend have been in a state of high alert by the barrage of frauds involving his identity.

The pair check Facebook Marketplace every day, looking for new sales posts within a small radius of his mother's home. When they find a fraudulent one, they report it to Facebook.

Carwyn told Which? that Facebook used to be good at removing these posts and profiles following his reports, but more recently it had stopped doing so.

He also now pays for both Cifas Protective Registration and an enhanced monitoring service on his credit report, in an attempt to thwart fraudulent applications in his name.

The case was reported to Action Fraud and West Yorkshire Police, but no suspect has yet been identified.

Which? investigates

Carwyn shared a number of live fraudulent Facebook Marketplace listings, and a profile impersonating him.

The listings included cameras, games consoles and a drone, with a combined value of £1,800. Which? flagged these with Facebook's parent company, Meta, and it swiftly removed them and the underlying account, but offered no explanation as to why it ignored Carwyn's earlier reports.

We asked Meta what definitive steps it would take to prevent further impersonations of Carwyn on its platform, but it didn't respond.

West Yorkshire Police had previously closed its investigation in 2020; however, it reopened it at Carwyn's insistence following the recent online catalogue fraud.

A force spokesperson told us: 'When this matter was first reported to West Yorkshire Police in February 2020, enquiries were carried out in relation to banking information.

'A suspect could not be identified from those enquiries and further investigation was assessed as not being in the public interest, on the basis that the complainant had not suffered any financial loss and the victims of the fraud offences had reported the matters to their respective local forces.'

It added: 'Following further recent contact from the complainant, the investigating officer is continuing to make enquiries and will be updating him directly.

'Officers will also be liaising with North Wales Police in relation to safeguarding considerations at the address in their area.'

Tips on protecting yourself against identity theft

Don't throw out anything containing your name, address or bank details without first shredding it.
If you're expecting a letter from your bank and it doesn't arrive, inform them of the loss.
If you move house, ask Royal Mail to redirect your post.
Ensure your social media profiles are private. Don't post pictures on social media which show your car's number plate - fraudsters could use this to obtain your address from DVLA records.
Create strong passwords online, and use different passwords for each online account. If you struggle to keep track, consider using a password manager.
Don't access sensitive apps or websites (such as your internet banking) on public wi-fi networks.

For more advice, check out our full guide on identity theft and identity fraud.