‘I FELT SO FOOLISH AFTER WHAT HAPPENED’
Toni Parker, 53, is an A&E nurse and lives in Wolverhampton with her husband Doug, 71, and their 18-year-old son.
As a mum of four, I’ve always tried to be there for my children, so when I received a message via Whatsapp from my son, 29, asking if I could lend him some money, I didn’t think twice. But now, I wish I had. It was July 2021 and I was at home with my husband Doug, then 70, and our 17-year-old son, rushing around preparing for a holiday to Cornwall. I’d been working as an A&E nurse during the pandemic and I was desperate for a break. On top of that, I was still grieving the loss of my mother, and Doug’s work as an entertainer had ground to a halt. I’d felt the pressure from all sides and as we packed up the car, ready for a much-needed break, my phone pinged with a Whatsapp message from my son – or so I thought. ‘Hi Mum. Can you help me?’ it said. I responded without a second thought, asking what was wrong.
He’d dropped his phone down the toilet, I was told, and he was messaging from his new number. In a fluster as I rearranged our luggage in the boot, I asked how much he needed. ‘£1,980,’ he said, mentioning a bill he had to pay. I remembered the money we’d earmarked for a new boiler. He’d pay me back in days, he promised, and I knew he would. But his account had been suspended, he said, so he sent me details of his friend’s account and, as I loaded the final bits into the car, I opened my banking app and sent over the money, relieved I’d been able to help. Minutes later, he asked for an additional £450, which I also transferred.
Ninety minutes into our journey, I was chatting to my other son and told him about his brother asking for money. ‘Did you know your brother’s number changed?’ I wondered. He asked to see the messages, but as soon as I opened the chat, the conversation started getting deleted.
Cold realisation
We called my son on his ‘old’ number and when he sounded confused about it all, my heart sank. It was obvious now that I had been scammed.
Doug turned the car around and, back home, I spent three hours on the phone to the bank in a panic. But it was too late. The scammers had managed to swipe £2,430, and within minutes of stealing my money, they’d closed their account. I felt so foolish and it didn’t help hearing my children’s thoughts. They were shocked I’d fallen for it, but I’d truly believed it had been one of them.
Unfortunately, my bank’s policy meant that as I’d authorised the transactions, they wouldn’t reimburse me. For the following days, I felt numb, drained, and my stomach was in knots. I struggled to sleep as I played it out in my mind.
I was made to feel stupid, even by my friends and colleagues. But I decided to share my story in the hope I could stop others going through what I did.
I have two degrees, I’m a nurse and a midwife, and I’m an independent, dogmatic woman. At first, it was difficult to accept what had happened, but now, I’ve learnt from it and I’ve moved on.
I don’t answer calls from people I don’t recognise or respond to messages from numbers I don’t have stored, and I’m apprehensive over every conversation I have on the phone. These ruthless scammers prey on people and it’s important to be aware and alert. It could happen to any of us.
‘I felt relieved I’d been able to help’