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I'd NEVER fall for a text SCAM........

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SevenOfNine
SevenOfNine Posts: 2,391 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
edited 28 July at 1:54PM in Praise, vent & warnings
That's the last time I'll EVER be able to say that, because a few days ago I DID!!!

I'm wary a lot, there's a list in my head of all the things I NEVER do. No idea what lapse in my brain process led me to fall for this scam, I've even loosely heard of it, there's no version of stupid I haven't called myself now. 

3 weeks previously I'd had a text, "Hiya mum, just checking in, broke my phone screen so using a work phone, you can reach me on this number"My son & his family live 3 hours away, & we don't see them often, & I have a tendency to call my DiL anyway as son always busy!

Spoke/text my DiL a couple of times over next few days as they were about to go abroad for 2 weeks. Forgot to ask if son had fixed phone.

No contact while they were away BUT day they were due to return home I got another text from 'sons' work number saying, "I'll have to take phone to a shop so using my old phone & number". I put the number as a secondary contact into his profile on my mobile.

Next text says "can you confirm what time you received this text, signal still patchy".  I reply with the time.

Next text has his profile (yes, with hindsight I can see how!) so STILL alarm bells didn't ring. 'Son' asks me for a favour, I'll cut this bit of to & fro chatter, because it's a bit lengthy & reinforces my stupidity (if that's even possible).

End result is that I transfer a total of £2800 to:
[Removed by Forum Team]
As a new payee, the name & bank details had come up as confirmed correct by NatWest.

Next text says "was it OK, done". I keep going in my stupidity fog & confirm it is. Reply is "thank you, & asks if I want the receipt sent to me".  I reply YES. Text response to that is "thank you, what is the email address".

FINALLY, the penny drops. My son doesn't often thank me for anything, now 'he' has written it TWICE, & doesn't know my email address, which I know he does.

My bank's fraud dept move pretty fast & treat me extremely sensitively (not at all like the prat I am). They liaise with NatWest, money is back in my account in 3 hours. Apparently there's also a process called Payment System Regulations which would mean if no retrieval was possible my bank & NatWest would split the amount & reimburse me for my own stupidity. 

The moral of my story is, I thought I'd never be stupid enough........until I was! 


Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it.

Comments

  • Lorian
    Lorian Posts: 6,254 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 28 July at 8:50AM
    If it's your sons name by the bank details you might want to remove or redact it.

    If it's not, who did you think you were paying?


  • SevenOfNine
    SevenOfNine Posts: 2,391 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    No, it's not his name. It's possibly what is known as a "mule", someone who has agreed to allow the use of his bank account to process a payment for a person he thought was a friend, or for a payment via keeping some of it himself & transferring the rest elsewhere.

    I thought I was paying an invoice on behalf of my son, that should have been paid while he was on holiday. I pay for lots of things for them, either directly or indirectly (dentist, school fees etc), I just didn't engage my brain.
    Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 16,286 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Well done to your bank: would you care to name them?
  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 22,548 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts I've been Money Tipped! Name Dropper
    It is very easy to be caught off guard. 
  • SevenOfNine
    SevenOfNine Posts: 2,391 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Well done to your bank: would you care to name them?
    LLOYDS BANK. Passed around a little bit at first when ringing the fraud number. Very brief "why do you think it's fraud" from first person. Transferred & fuller explanation to second person. On hold for a few minutes & then got third person, GILLIAN.

    I was still inside of the 2 hr fast p'ment window, don't know if that helped at all (I doubt it). I was advised that there might be a £100 excess charge if the 2 banks involved couldn't grab it back. If not I would definitely get it under the Payment Systems Regulation, both banks would pay half each & it would take 5 working days.

    I felt even more awful at that, my own fault entirely! Doesn't seem to be that they had to use that process as I was reimbursed so fast. Gillian in Lloyds was very professional, explained every bit of the process, did her very best to stop me feeling an idiot, not just because I got my money back, but this was handled very professionally.

    Thanks all for comments.
    Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it.
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