Be careful.
An actor “scammed out of every penny” she had has spoken about her ordeal, warning others not to fall for the same trick.
In a series of Twitter posts, UK-based drama student Emmeline Hartley explained she had fallen for a text message scam which claimed she owed money to Royal Mail as part of additional postage fees.
Given her birthday was the following day, she thought nothing of it and gave her bank details.
She later received a call from a man claiming he was from Barclays who told the actor someone had attempted to set up direct debits in her account to various other firms.
The scammer said Emmeline giving her bank details through the text had put her at risk and that she needed a new bank account to place her savings.
Already embarrassed for falling for the text scam and in a rush to go on a socially distanced birthday walk with her friend, she transferred her savings over.
Emmeline only realised she was being scammed when the con-man asked her to transfer her overdraft, as a recent overdraft application by her was declined, at which point she “broke down in tears”.
Before transferring the money, the actor had checked the number of the caller which appeared to be the official Barclays Fraud contact number.
However, she later found out the number was “spoofed”, which is when a caller falsifies the information transmitted to the receiver’s caller ID.
This form of “safe account scam” is reportedly very common.
In a post on Twitter, the actor wrote: “I’m usually very good at not falling for scams, but this one caught me off guard at a pretty vulnernable time in my life.
“Please save the lectures, I don’t think it’s possible for me to feel any stupider.
“Please warn everyone and keep each other safe.”
Luckily, the story has a happy ending with Emmeline later revealing Barclays called to say they will reimburse her in full.
She wrote: “I can’t access my account yet but it’s very reassuring. Thank you again for all the support, it’s been a really stressful few days.
“I hope everyone who DM’d to say they’re in the same boat gets the same outcome ASAP.”
Read the full thread below.
I mentioned yesterday that I’d been scammed out of every penny I had. Thought I’d post what happened in case it helps anyone avoid being in the same position. Please save the lectures, I don’t think it’s possible for me to feel any stupider ??♀️ #royalmailscam #safeaccountscam pic.twitter.com/YRrh8W6uje
— Emmeline Hartley (@EmmelineHartley) March 21, 2021
In article images via Emmeline Hartley
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
