ffutures | Weird card fraud

This has come my way via an internet post someone else saw, and I don't know how accurate it is, but it's another reason for a little paranoia about unexpected bank contacts:

“Received new bank card yesterday from Santander which i thought a bit strange as there still 9 months on my current one. It wasnt a contactless one either like my current card. Had all the info on letter from Santander about how to activate it etc. Well as it wasnt contactless its not much use to me so i went into bank today to ask them to change it. They informed me that they hadnt sent out the card and good job i went in. If i had activated it i would of lost all my money and savings. Major fraud squad now involved.”

I don't quite get how this was supposed to work, unless there was something weird about the activation instructions, such as using a non-standard web site. If it was the usual activation method, via a cash point, how would it pass on the information it stole to the fraudster? Anyone got any idea?