Fraudsters' home insurance scam needs to be addressed

You wrote recently that nobody fraudulently buys house insurance for someone else's property using their own bank account details . Actually, fraudsters apply for insurance in someone else's name to receive policy documents which can be used as proof of address when opening a bank account. It's possible a fraudster got the reader's details from the phone book and used fake info for the other answers, along with a bank account he controlled, to obtain policy documents. These can be intercepted in the post and the fraudster can then cancel the direct debit. IT, Hull One reader was chased by Aviva for premiums for a policy he had not set up, and was told some people fraudulently buy financial products online to get promotional gifts. Another found his house insured by Lloyds TSB after a clerk typed the wrong postcode which, with the house number, appeared as his property. No one checked his address against the application form. Clearly I was naive to assume there was nothing to gain by insuring a stranger's house. • Email Margaret Dibben at [email protected] or write to Margaret Dibben, Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU and include a telephone number. Do not enclose SAEs or original documents. Letters are selected for publication and we cannot give personal replies. The newspaper accepts no legal responsibility for advice.