The woman from Edinburgh became suspicious and contacted Santander directly who confirmed the call was not genuine.
An investigation by Santander found the money had been transferred into a fraudster’s account, meaning the bank was able to recover £16,996.38.
Unfortunately, the remaining £5,000 could not be retrieved as it had already been transferred to other accounts.
Chris Ainsley, Head of Fraud Risk Management, Santander UK: “Scammers are ruthless. Taking on the persona of someone from your bank, the police, or even a utility provider – criminals will do what they can to convince you to part with your money.”
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