It took the scammers two hours to transfer £9,500 out of Ida’s bank account.
Caught off guard by the call, seemingly from BT Openreach, she was pressured into transferring large sums into newly opened accounts.
“I got a call, and they told me someone had been trying to get onto my internet,” she told Sky News.
“They asked if I could help catch the scammers and I said yes, thinking it would just be a few minutes.”
Convinced to download a screen-sharing app that would give access to her mobile, she was then asked to open a number of other bank accounts – Monzo and Revolut – and transfer money across in a bid “to catch the scammer”.
“Money just started flying from my account,” the 63-year-old said.
“I was so confused. It didn’t dawn on me until I phoned my daughter on the way to work and I told her, and she said ‘Mum, you’ve been scammed’.
“I felt like such an idiot.”
She immediately rang her bank – because £3,000 was still in transit they were able to recoup it.
Twelve months later, she is still waiting to hear if she’ll get the remaining £6,500 back.
Thrown away her landline
While these types of scams have always been relatively common, amid the rising cost of living there are concerns they could become more frequent, with people looking to exploit the crisis.
The Department for Work and Pensions had to issue a warning to be wary of unwanted advances ahead of its second cost of living payment to low-income households.
Ida’s sister, Beatrice, told Sky…
