An Angus text scam victim has revealed the ‘perfect storm’ which cost her dearly at the hands of ruthless con merchants.
And the woman hopes sharing the “awful” experience of her £1,000 loss will help save others paying a similar financial and emotional price.
The woman, who did not wish to be named, was snared by foreign criminals in an increasingly common scam which revolves around a plea for urgent help from a loved one supposedly caught up in emergency trouble.
The retired nurse was shopping in Edinburgh with a friend when a desperate text message – she believed from her son – came through.
She said: “My son is in Glasgow and his girlfriend is going through cancer treatment.
“Here I was in Edinburgh and I got this message saying he had changed his number but it was just temporary.
“Later on another one came through saying he was having trouble with his provider and the bank.
“Then the next one arrived saying ‘I’m in trouble, I really need your help, I need you to send me some money’, with details of where to send £1,000.”
Panic
The woman continued: “I tried calling him but just got a recorded message.
“Because of the situation with his girlfriend, me being away from home in Edinburgh and rushing between one place and another I just got caught up in the situation.
“I’d forgotten by then it was a temporary number.
“We were getting on a bus to go back to Dundee and I just panicked because I really though he was in trouble. I transferred the money.
“But when I got home I tried him and his girlfriend’s number.
“She answered the phone and I knew then he hadn’t been in any trouble and that I’d been had.”
The woman immediately contacted her bank and police.
“The police were very good, but the money is gone.
“It seems it was someone in Rotterdam who was running this scam so it’s an international matter.
“Don’t ever feel silly, please report it – these scammers make it their job to convince us they are real.”
Katherine Hart, Chartered Trading Standards Institute
She continued: “In retrospect I can’t believe I was so silly – but it was the perfect storm.
“If I’d been at home I would have had time to think that it was a nonsense.
“But I was away from home and concerned about my son because of the current situation with his girlfriend.
“I still feel ridiculous, but at that time there was a panic around me that something was wrong.
“This scam seems to be quite a common thing and if I’d been at home with time to think I’m sure I would have twigged to it.
“But they will catch people off guard like I was, that’s how these things work.
“I just hope I can prevent someone else from going through this by sharing what happened to me.
Expert advice
The woman’s experience has prompted advice from one of the country’s top trading standards officers on how to reduce the chances of losing cash to crooks.
Katherine Hart, who works for Angus Council, has a national portfolio as lead officer for doorstep crime with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI).
She said the text con is being tried with worrying regularity.
“Unfortunately it is happening everywhere,” said Katherine.
“Scammers are always looking for an opportunity to take our money, therefore we need to be on our guard.
“Don’t ever feel silly, please report it – these scammers make it their job to convince us they are real.”
Katherine highlighted a string of key reminders to help people avoid being duped.
- If a text arrives out of the blue and you don’t know who it is from, be suspicious.
- You can search the number using search engines – a lot of these nuisance texts are reported as being scam.
- Remembers scammers will try and make it sound it desperate. Try and speak directly to the person – using the last known telephone number.
- Be extra cautious if the text asks for money.
- You can report suspicious texts to 7726.
- If you need consumer advice call the Advice direct Scotland helpline on 0808 800 9060.
- If you have been a victim of this fraud – contact your bank immediately and report to police using 101.