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After moving into my new home last summer, I received a call on my landline from someone claiming to be from Virgin Media. This was not suspicious as Virgin Media had just set up my broadband and telephone service.
I got my new phone number the day of installation and apart from Virgin only my sister had the new number.
When I answered the call, I was addressed by name and told that my Virgin account had been hacked – and that the company needed access to my computer to fix the problem.
Trust scam: A fraudster stole £7,000 from a pensioner’s bank account by posing as a Virgin Media employee
They asked for debit card details and a copy of my driver’s license.
Initially I had no reason to doubt that I was speaking to a Virgin Media representative. A short time after the call I realized I had been duped, but not before scammers had taken £7,000 from my NatWest bank account and transferred money to accounts with online operations Revolut and Monese.
I immediately contacted NatWest and was refunded £1,000.
It told me to contact the two other companies and ask them to chase the rest of the money, but it got me nowhere.
I am a fixed income pensioner and cannot afford to lose £6,000.
Name and address provided.
Sally Hamilton replies: You told me that alarm bells were ringing when you started receiving emails from Revolut and Monese about online accounts fraudulently set up in your name. You contacted them and asked each to return the lost money – £2,990 with Revolut and £3,000 with Monese – and to close the accounts.
Monese confirmed the account closure, but no refund was forthcoming and after several attempts to contact Revolut, you were told that it was unable to refund the missing funds and that you could file a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman if you was not satisfied.
NatWest would not reimburse more than £1,000. Hearing about your plight, I felt NatWest could have done more. At my request, it agreed to reopen your case. After its investigation, it concluded that its position had not changed.
It said it had no influence on recovering the £6,000 transferred from your NatWest account to the online banks because the destination accounts were set up in your name.
It confirmed that it was able to refund £1,000 as this amount had been paid directly to a scammer’s account by debit card.
NatWest added £100, it said, to make up for the shortcomings in the service you received when you tried to report the fraud.
I didn’t think this was good enough as you were clearly the victim of a convincing fraud. I have again urged the bank to do more to help you.
I also contacted Monese and Revolut. Monese’s press office did not respond to my requests. Revolut responded more quickly and investigated the incident.
It concluded that your complaint had not been dealt with as smoothly as it should have been and awarded you a goodwill payment of £1,000 – but would not reimburse your losses as the account was opened in your name.
So far so unsatisfactory. After some thought, I went back to NatWest to request a formal comment on your case.
My second approach was more fruitful. Because in the meantime, NatWest had decided to “carefully” review the evidence in your “complex” case.
It didn’t want to elaborate for fear of releasing information that could be used to the advantage of fraudsters, but I’m pleased to report that it led to a different conclusion – a decision to refund you in full.
The bank has now credited your account with £5,990 – the £2,990 debit card payment to Revolut and the £3,000 debit card payment to Monese. Although scarred by the experience and nervous of using your computer, email and phone, you are immensely relieved.
A NatWest spokesperson said: ‘In this instance, we recognize that the service our client received was not up to the high standards we expect and we apologize for that.
“In all cases of fraud and scams, we will collect information from the victim to understand what happened so that we can come to a good outcome.”
NatWest told me to remind readers not to share banking, debit card, or personal information over the phone. If people are asked for remote access to a personal device, decline and hang up.
I can attest to that, although I am immensely sympathetic to anyone who is put in the place like you. It’s easy to fall into the trap – the same thing recently happened to a close relative with a scammer pretending to be calling from BT. Fortunately, my relationship managed to stop collecting payments.
It can be difficult to act rationally when pressure is applied so smoothly and forcefully. Whether the scammers knew you were a new Virgin customer or made a good guess, we’ll never know.
But to them it was a gift and enabled them to carry on their despicable trade with ease.
The Premium Bond app is driving me nuts
I have invested in Premium Bonds for years when I had some money to spare.
Since National Savings and Investments (NS&I) introduced two-factor authentication, I no longer have access to my account.
I log in with all the correct credentials, then I receive a one-time passcode on my phone, which I enter – but then I’m taken back to the blank login page.
This ‘loop’ happens every time and I can’t solve it.
Name and address provided.
Sally Hamilton replies: The government-backed NS&I introduced two-factor authentication last summer, something many financial organizations are doing to ensure that customer money is better protected against fraudsters.
Usually this involves entering a password and then perhaps fingerprint or facial recognition, or, as in the case of NS&I, a one-time passcode for the customer’s phone which is then keyed in to access their account.
But many customers are struggling to implement NS&I’s latest security arrangement.
Several technical glitches are to blame, including the looping issue that led to your Groundhog Day nightmare.
Looping is when an online customer is returned to a screen they previously saw as part of the NS&I two-factor authentication enrollment process and is unable to complete it further.
I’ve asked NS&I to step in and help stop your loop problem pronto.
It quickly arranged a phone call to talk you through the process.
Finally, six months after your first try, you were able to get things working, use the new authentication scheme, and access your account.
An NS&I spokesman said: “We are sorry that some people are experiencing difficulties that may have different causes.”
NS&I says there are a number of reasons why looping can occur. This includes computers that do not have enough memory, disruption due to automatic security updates and the automatic deletion of cookies.
- Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk – include telephone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organization giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send any original documents, we cannot take any responsibility for that. The Daily Mail assumes no legal liability for answers provided.
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