A foodbank volunteer has contacted the police after his bank details were allegedly stolen by an O2 call centre worker.

Mark Offord, 38, said his bank alerted him to fraudulent activity on his account in South Africa, moments after he rang an O2 call centre and supplied his card details.

O2 has launched an internal investigation, saying: “We take allegations of fraud incredibly seriously.”

But Mr Offord wants an independent investigation.

The Met has referred his case to Britain’s leading fraud squad – City of London Police – which said it was “being assessed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau”.

“How many other people has he done this to?” Mr Offord asked. “And is he the only one doing it?”

But, said O2: “This is an individual accusation against one staff member and any indication this is indicative of a wider culture at O2 is completely unfounded.”

Your Local Guardian: Mark Offord received a message saying he had just ordered a takeaway in South Africa, when he was sitting in his living room in SurbitonMark Offord received a message saying he had just ordered a takeaway in South Africa, when he was sitting in his living room in Surbiton (Image: Charles Thomson)

Alert

Mr Offord, a volunteer at the Surbiton Community Fridge, said he rang O2 on February 17 to enquire about getting a new phone on a monthly contract.

His call was answered by a man with a South African accent, he said, who told him he would have to pass a credit check.

“He asked me for my card details, including the three digits on the signature strip,” said Mr Offord.

As he had proactively called O2 on its advertised number, as opposed to receiving a call, he had no reason to suspect anything was amiss.

But after being told he had failed the credit check and hanging up, Mr Offord received an alert on his mobile phone saying he had just placed an order with a food company.

“It was three minutes after I got off the phone,” he said. “I knew we hadn’t ordered any food.”

Your Local Guardian: Mr Offord received an alert from his bank that his card was being used to order a takeaway in Cape Town, South AfricaMr Offord received an alert from his bank that his card was being used to order a takeaway in Cape Town, South Africa (Image: Charles Thomson)

Bank

Mr Offord called his bank.

“The lady said immediately, ‘I can see it’s fraud’. I asked her how and she told me the order had been placed in South Africa,” he said.

“The moment she said that, I thought, the man I just spoke to at O2 was South African. I put two and two together straight away. It ain’t rocket science.”

He also claimed nobody else could have those card details.

“I had only received that new bank card two days before and had only used it at Aldi,” he said.

The mystery order was placed with “Mr D Food”, a Just Eat-style delivery service in Cape Town.

Ten years ago, O2 outsourced thousands of UK jobs, with some call centre work moving to Cape Town.

At the time, the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) called the move a “betrayal” and a “cold accountancy exercise”.

“Distress”

The sum charged to Mr Offord’s card was under £10 and was blocked by his bank before it left his account.

But the incident still caused significant disruption.

“They had to close down that card straight away to prevent anymore transactions,” he said.

That left him without a bank card for days, while a replacement was posted to him.

Your Local Guardian: Mr Offord said he hoped a full investigation would be conducted into whether the same thing could have happened to other O2 customersMr Offord said he hoped a full investigation would be conducted into whether the same thing could have happened to other O2 customers (Image: Charles Thomson)

“It’s caused me really big distress,” he said. "I think it’s disgraceful – and especially to do it to a disabled person.”

Mr Offord was left disabled after a motorbike accident three years ago, which damaged his shoulder.

He still suffers with chronic pain and reduced mobility.

O2 has offered him a £75 payment, but Mr Offord feels a full investigation is needed.

"I believe that this person could have done this to other people," he said.

“I think everyone who’s spoken to the same operator should be told, so they can check their accounts. Not everyone gets alerts whenever their card is used like I do.”

O2

O2 said it was “committed to fully investigating and taking action where necessary” over fraud allegations.

“We’ve raised a full investigation into this with our sales and security teams which is still ongoing,” it said.

“Whilst we have offered a payment to Mr Offord, this was done as a goodwill gesture and not because of any wrongdoing uncovered.

“We aren’t able to comment on the specifics of our own ongoing investigations or any subsequent criminal investigations.”