A lady has spoken up about how she was “scammed out of every penny” she had in the hope that her story will serve as a warning to other folks. British student Emmeline Hartley shared her encounter in a Twitter thread that has gone viral on the internet.
Ms Hartley moved 1,000 pounds out of her account soon after a man claiming to be from Barclays Bank known as her.
In her tweet, the 28-year-old stated that on Friday, she received a text from Royal Mail saying that she owed 2.99 pounds in postage charge. According to the Evening Standard, the Royal Mail scam, to which thousands have fallen prey, includes a text message stating that a user owes a settlement charge or asking for “unpaid shipping fee” on a package.
Without considering also significantly about it, and unaware of the scam, Ms Hartley entered her bank particulars.
The following day, a man claiming to be from Barclays Bank known as her and stated that an individual had attempted to set up direct debits in her account and also attempted a transaction of more than 300 pounds.
Ms Hartley says the fraudster posing a bank employee took her via safety measures ahead of informing her that considering that placing in her bank particulars in the text had place her on the internet banking at danger, she necessary to transfer her cash to a new account.
He persuaded her to transfer 1,000 pounds – which she says is “every penny I had” – into a new account. The drama student says she only realised what was taking place when he asked her to transfer her overdraft.
Read the complete account beneath:
I talked about yesterday that I’d been scammed out of each penny I had. Thought I’d post what occurred in case it assists any person stay away from becoming in the exact same position. Please save the lectures, I do not consider it really is achievable for me to really feel any stupider ????????♀️ #royalmailscam#safeaccountscampic.twitter.com/YRrh8W6uje
— Emmeline Hartley (@EmmelineHartley) March 21, 2021
Emmeline Hartley’s story has been shared thousands of instances on Twitter. Many in the comments section also opened up about their personal experiences with monetary frauds.
So sorry this occurred to you! I get so several texts like this it is challenging to know which are genuine. Glad I took my probabilities with this one now and gave them a piece of my thoughts ???? I truly hope the bank does the decent factor and assists you ???????? pic.twitter.com/79zCqvjVL7
— Sam ???? (@samputtsx) March 22, 2021
You’ve completed a wonderful service by sharing this Emmeline. I got a text from these Royal Mail imposters minutes soon after leaving the Post Office getting just posted a parcel. This is how they play the odds, hoping to hit adequate folks just when their text could possibly sound plausible. pic.twitter.com/cPhqDNvcJn
— Andrew Penman (@PenmanMirror) March 22, 2021
According to BBC, the bank has now agreed to completely reimburse her.
A spokesperson for Barclays stated: “No genuine bank would message you to transfer money to a ‘safe account’ – we advise any customers to ignore anyone who asks to do this, whether it’s by phone, email or any other method.”