Scammers may cost me £9000

X post, I see your DIL is helping you tomorrow.

Good luck

CrazyH
Reading your OP again I’m sure the first text was from the scammers.
It reminded me of 2 texts I received from Santander which specifically said that there had been unusual activity on my account and to ring this number. I ignored it. They text me again. I ignored it. Then they called me.
I asked them my own security questions.
I base my assumption on the fact that liars give too much information.

crazyH

Still can’t get through - I’m having severe neck pain - so, got a heat wrap on , ibuprofen, sleeping tablet. First thing tomorrow one of the d.i.l. is driving me to the big branch in Cardiff so I can show them the text They can’t take any more money from that account - they’ve cleaned me out. Unless they attack my Barclays a/c , and my other savings. And I think you are right…the guy who I spoke to this morning is probably part of the scam. That’s why I hope to see someone face to face

This is why he said he'd call you back I suppose! So you wouldn't be inclined to report it.

rosie1959

A bit odd every new payment that goes out of a Santander account has a verifying number sent to your mobile which has to be entered on to the account transfer page before the transaction can be completed

I was just going to say this, Santander introduced this two way verification recently to avoid scams, if I make an online payment to a new person or company, I get a text to my mobile with a one time code. Sometimes I get this verification with regular payments as I think they do random checks. So I think Santander and other major banks are doing a lot to improve security.

Crazy please phone the Santander on a different phone than you spoke to the scammer ie use your mobile.
I was scanmed during the lockdown. I contacted the Financial ombudsman. They were very helpful indeed. I got all my money back. The bank even paid me interest as the Financial ombudsman said they should have reimbursed my money straightaway. Please PM me if you need any further help. It is a horrible feeling when you know you have been duped

Google Santandar fraud line (I could give it you as looked it up, but would advise you to check it in any case ) phone number then phone up ASAP ... do not leave till next week ... never trust people ... sorry to say ... when you have email's, texts or phone with phone numbers on for you to contact them ... also Google the company to check phone number first ... I had a plain police officer come here many years ago, want to do something here . I had his details, then told him I would check & he would have to come back later, was genuine but always check ... all the best also hopefully you should get your money back ...

I dont use a smart phone for banking so if I get a text I cant click on any links as its an old dumb phone.

If I get a text on Santander about my account checking purchases I always ring back on another phone using the number on my statement. Then when I get put through to the fraud department I know I am talking to the real people.

UPDATE - just spoke to Santander. They have refunded all the money - what a relief !!! Thanks everyone xx

I hope you managed a few hours sleep CrazyH and that you receive encouraging news today.

Lovely news. They obviously knew they dropped the ball somewhere.

crazyH

Had a text this morning from Santander saying, unless I transferred more money into my account, they would not pay/honour any of my standing orders or Bills. My main Bank is Barclays, but I do have an online 123Account and an old ISA with Santander. I rang them and they said that I had paid various people (they gave me a list) and that there was only £2 or so left in the account. They had even takeThe names they gave were totally unknown to me. On further talking to this Bank person, he said that this matter will have to be investigated further but he cannot guarantee that I will get my money refunded. When I rang the local Santander, they said because it was an online a/c they couldn’t help me.
If there’s anyone who is in the know about these things, could you please advice me? Thanks x

Did you ring the number given in the text? If so that would have been the actual scam...when you gave further details over the phone to them. Google the actual numbers and ring the actual bank fraud line.

That’s really good news crazyH. Well done!

Crossed posts! That’s great news CrazyH. You must be so relieved after such a traumatic experience.

Ah that is good news. Phew!

crazyH

UPDATE - just spoke to Santander. They have refunded all the money - what a relief !!! Thanks everyone xx

That really IS good news.
Why did it happen?
What went wrong?

Thank goodness, what a relief!

I got a phone call yesterday evening from Santander asking me to confirm that an amount of about £350 was paid to someone abroad that morning. He said the request had been made from Coventry. I said I was in Devon and he said he would remove it from my account and get the person in Coventry to be looked into. Glad you got your money back, crazy.

It is definitely worth setting up two-step verification, so that you receive a code to your mobile phone to confirm transactions.

Brilliant result CrazyH, you can relax now ?. A lesson for us all to be careful.

Oh crazy that's wonderful news. Thank goodness, you must be so relieved .

Please take care of your money everyone. There are so many scam calls just now and they can sound so convincing. Do not engage with people unless you have rang them on a genuine bank number.

I've recently had that horrible text msg purporting to be from my son asking for money as he'd lost his phone.

They are just lowlife doing this.

CrazyH
Did Santander explain how it had happened, and how to avoid it happening again? It would be useful for us all to know, forewarned is forearmed!

Yes Bakingmad - they are investigating and are sending me some paperwork in the post. They feel that they accessed information from my mobile phone - I honestly don’t understand the connection. Once I complete the forms, I guess they will get a better understanding of my banking habits and what really went wrong. All that I can say is that, I do everything online. I don’t know when I last physically went into a Bank. I use the cashpoint to withdraw cash. And every other transaction is done online,
My only advice would be - check your accounts regularly and contact your Bank if you suspect unauthorised activity.

Contact immediately

Ring their fraud line and stay on the line until you get an answer. This is not your fault and tell them that you want your money back or you will have to speak to a solicitor.