Scam victim’s joy at recovering £30k
OVER the course of one terrifying day, fraudsters scared and manipulated a lone woman into handing them £30,000 of her savings.
The crime, which took place in February, left her feeling humiliated and suffering panic attacks she feared would never end.
But Sue Mason, 64, has come through and finally has the money she lost after her ordeal was recognised as an APP (authorised push payment) scam and the Financial Ombudsman considered she wasn’t at fault.
Overjoyed Sue said last week: “It shows the importance of rules that protect ordinary people.
“Crusader has stood by me and the Financial Ombudsman took such care, I felt I mattered.”
There were many devils in the details of what happened to Sue that day as she was already stressed trying to mop up her home after flood damage.
An HSBC bank customer for more than 20 years, she had never banked online but, because of lockdown, did have the app on her phone.
“A message flashed up saying the bank was trying to get in touch,” she explained.
“Then I got a call claiming it was the HSBC fraud team warning me of data breaches.
“They had all my account details, including my code word and that convinced me.
“I even verified the number they gave me as HSBC.”
Sue followed the instructions issued, giving a description of herself so the scammers could monitor her online going to a local ATM – “it was so creepy”, she now reflects. She then went into her branch and made separate transfers. “This was totally unlike my normal behaviour,” she says, “but no one picked that up.
“Anxiety made my mind a blur at first, but I forced myself to write down everything that happened, which helped later on.
“It took a couple of hours to get through to the bank’s fraud team.”
When Sue was questioned by an investigator, she claims, “he made me feel I was to blame.
“The bank then recovered £31.72 which it returned but declined to reimburse the rest.”
HSBC is one of the banks signed up to the voluntary contingency reimbursement model code which sets out standards for firms and the circumstances in which consumers will be reimbursed for APP scams. Following Crusader’s inquiry about Sue’s plight, the bank said: “We act with empathy and understanding when investigating a case.
“HSBC would never ask a customer for their one-time passcode or that they move funds to a ‘safe account’.”
In its half-year update banking body UK Finance says APP calls have increased 71 per cent, amounting to £355m of losses.
Sue received counselling afterwards and took advice that having a pet might help her recover.
“I have a beautiful Labrador puppy,” she says, “and am using some of the money to make my home more flood-resilient. Prevention matters.”