Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Scammed out of £60k on call
Fraudsters pose as phone company
A NORTHERN Ireland man has suffered a “huge financial blow” after being scammed out of £60,000 over the phone on Wednesday.
The Co Antrim man, aged in his 50s, was targeted during repeated calls to his landline by three males.
A PSNI spokesperson said: “The first call was from a man claiming to be from a telecommunications company.
“The fraudster informed the man that his internet line had been hacked and that he would need to download software to his PC and await a call from a cybercrime investigator.
“He did as requested and shortly afterwards received the call from the supposed cybercrime investigator. The second conman stated that there had been fraudulent activity within the man’s bank and that his funds were insecure. A third collaborator, posing as the head of the bank, then convinced the victim to set up a new bank account to which £60,000 was subsequently transferred.” Meanwhile in Co Armagh a man was scammed out of almost £13,000 after receiving an email from a fraudster posing as his accountant.
The police spokesperson added: “The email contained specific details, which led the victim to believe it was authentic. He subsequently made the requested transfer before finding out from his real accountant that the email was in fact fraudulent.
“Our message is simple – never disclose your personal or banking details to anyone over the phone or online, no matter how convincing they may seem.”