Unexpected Credit Report Search

I bank with and hold credit and debit cards issued by NatWest. I'm not a customer of any other bank. Equifax CreditExpert recently alerted me to an unexpected search on my credit report. The company which initiated the search was "Royal Bank of Scotland - emc Compu" and the ostensible reason "Identity Check to comply with Anti Money laundering regulations".

I've 'phoned Equifax, RBS and NatWest to seek an explanation. To paraphrase, their respective answers were "It won't affect your credit rating", "We can't help unless you have evidence of actual fraud" and "I don't think it was us".

Obviously I'm concerned about identity theft. Google reveals that a few other people have experienced similar unexplained alerts but I've found no reports of malign consequences, suggesting that the alerts may be obscure but harmless artefacts. I'd be grateful if anyone can throw any light on the phenomenon or offer an opinion on whether it would be worth investigating further and, if so, suggest other approaches?

Reply to
Dick K
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Belatedly NatWest have written to me acknowledging that they initiated "... an identity check generated when an on-line payment is actioned ... the card .. not being ... present at the time of the transaction ... in connection with the verified by Visa or MasterCard authorisation scheme." They also wrote that " The reason why The Royal Bank of Scotland have shown as requesting the search is due to NatWest being owned by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group."

That doesn't explain the numerous on-line payments which continue to go through without attracting a check. The actual trigger may have been the fact that, if memory serves and unusually, no CSC code was requested during the on-line dialogue. Nor does it explain Equifax's reference to money laundering or the confusion of RBS's and NatWest's brand names. The mysteries will have to remain mysterious because I'm not inclined to delve any further.

Reply to
Dick K

The mysteries will have to

At least you got an answer. Probably it was just a random check.

Reply to
Tiddy Ogg

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