Pensioner conned out of her savings
CRUEL AND CLEVER SCAM LURED OAP INTO GIVING OVER DETAILS
A PENSIONER was robbed of her savings in a cruel building society scam.
Nationwide are investigating why Susan Adams, 69, lost £4,400 from her account after she reported a suspicious phone call.
Her family say the building society should have taken action to stop the sophisticated scam when they knew something was going on.
But she lost money when the con entered its second stage.
Susan was the victim of two scam phone calls – including one claiming to be from the bank – which drained her account.
It started when she took a call alleging to be from Sky offering to half the cost of her subscription.
She did not become suspicious until the call had nearly ended.
Her son Steven said: “They said they could reduce the cost from £36 a month by half.
“She gave her sort code and account number and then they read out a card number which was not hers.
“She became suspicious and ended the call.
“My mum rang Sky and they confirmed it was not them who had called.”
Susan, of Dinnington, Newcastle, alerted Nationwide.
Steven said they told her not to worry and they would keep an eye on the account.
Later in the day, Susan took a call claiming to be from Nationwide.
She said the number of the building society came up on the caller ID display – but it was the second stage of the scam.
Steven said: “They said £1,400 had been taken and advised her to close her account and open a new one.
“She did what she was told but her friend advised ringing Nationwide to check and that’s when she realised that £4,400 had been stolen as a result of the second scam call.
“Nationwide should have taken steps to prevent that from happening once mam had spoken to them after the first phone call.
“They had promised they would keep an eye out for any unusual activity but the money still disappeared.
“I spoke to a woman in the fraud department and they put it all on my mam as if it were her fault.
“I am not going to rest until she gets her money back.”
Susan was the victim of a vishing scam – a word that combines “voice” and “fishing” to describe the way that fraudsters fish for victims on the phone.
She said: “I was convinced the second call was genuine.
“He said he was from Nationwide’s fraud department and the number which came up on caller ID was the same one I have for the bank.
“I changed the account in good faith because I thought it was Nationwide I was speaking to.
“I stupidly gave him all the details he asked for.”
Susan has contacted her MP Catherine McKinnell for help while Steven has carried out research on previous scams involving Nationwide.
He says he found out that the building society had refunded money taken from another customer in similar circumstances.
Action Fraud, the national fraud agency, said vishing and similar scams all have one aim in mind.
They said: “In the end, the aim is always to trick you into thinking you’re giving up personal information or making payments with someone you can trust, such as your bank, a government agency or a business or brand name.
“The fraudsters will use your details to steal your identity, or simply take the money you’ve paid and break all contact.”
A spokesman for Nationwide said they were unable to comment on an individual case.
They are, however, looking at what happened to Susan.
A spokesperson said later: “I have still got a partial report at the moment. We are trying to chat with NatWest who are the recipient bank of Mrs Adams’ transfer and I need more information from them before I can confirm what the situation is.”