Firstly, if my post is in the wrong thread plese feel free to move appropriately and advise.

Now, I know that this is likely to touch a nerve with a few caggers but I'm like a dog with a bone so please bare with me.

My Nephew (for the purpose of this thread we'll call him John) was researching various traders for a vehicle and having previously been wary of [problem]mers, had successfully turned down previous vehicles because of suspicious activity on said websites.

However, unfortunately, he has fell fowl to a vehicle [problem] on Auto Trader (online) to the tune of £7000.

Now, please dont state the obvious,

he already realises how stupid he's been transferring the funds before seeing the vehicle

but the said vehicle was in London and he works long hours.

going on past transactions, he's purchased vehicles like this previously with no bother, and all has been ok.

On researching this topic I came across a similar fraud

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?469945-Defrauded-by-bank-transfer-by-a-Barclay-s-customer-should-I-sue&highlight=fraud+[problem] and can relate to some of the information contained there in.

Action Fraud have been advised, reference etc provided.

Auto Trader advised, and during the conversation have advised us that the 'Seller/[problem]mer' had multiple vehicles 'for sale' and they have taken all adverts down because of suspicious activity.

Now, my thought is:

Wouldn't it have been better if Auto Trader could 'tweak' their website to make it look like the adverts were still live to the [problem]mer but not actually available to customers to prevent anyone else being caught out?

Whilst the police/fraud squad did there investigations and even visited said [problem]mer's home address (from the banks records) to retrieve as much money as possible? And even shut them down?

We've spoken to DVLA to alert them that certain registration number is involved but they naturally will only liaise with the fraud team/police.

We've spoken to Nat West and they won't divulge their policies and processes which they follow in these circumstances (even in a generalised scenario) but considering the vehicle was supposed to be in London the bank account is held in Leicester!

Which is not a stone throw away from the link above thread.

[problem]mers do not differentiate when it comes to obtaining funds by deception, a drone or a vehicle.......

So, moving this a little futher down the line, assuming the police apprehend culptits and retrieve assets through crime.

What happens to the cash recovered, property sold whether it be house, car, fancy watches etc?

Can the victims not lay claim to a portion of the recovered assets, even pro rata amounts? Where does this money go to?

I am in the process of drafting complaint letter up to the bank as like the cagger said above,

banks are not protecting its customers sufficiently via bank transfers and just blaming the customer.

The banks have a duty to apply due diligence when customers open new bank accounts and I dont think bank staff are trained sufficiently enough to spot fraudulent documents, they should have major training in spotting fraudulent documents and carry out further checks with relevant organisations before permitting funds to be released, and lets face it if you saw an account with transactions of transfer credits being received into an account of multiple thousands, several times a day, surely they can have flags on the software system to alert a fraud team?

Would anyone like to suggest how I could draft a template letter to the bank to complain in this regard? Or your thoughts please?

I think you'd be wasting your time. Banks rarely open accounts using fraudulent documents. They already have automated systems in place to monitor suspicious transactions.

What's more likely to have happened is that the account in question belongs to a legitimate customer who has had their online banking or debit card details compromised.

If the Police do recover the money you would get this back. However, the chances are slim as the funds are likely to have been transferred on or withdrawn as cash.