When June Fearn was asked by the National Crime Agency (NCA) to assist with its ‘investigation’ she agreed, this selfless act cost her £37,000. Ms Fearn represents one of the many victims to have recently fallen foul of highly sophisticated scammers.
Fraud | Rosenblatt’s Financial Crime Team
Earlier this month, Ms Fearn a 74-year-old retired head teacher received a call from what she was led to believe was the NCA. Her callers were in fact not from the agency and instead were highly sophisticated scammers who preyed on her goodwill. They convinced Ms Fearn to make what they described as “bait” payments into a bank account in order to trap a criminal insider at her bank. Ms Fearn made a payment of £37,000 to the requested bank account after the scammers reassured her that the NCA would refund her. Ms Fearn, however never received the refund promised.
Ms Fearn’s case has stark similarities with the case of Catriona Oliphant who lost £239,000 in February 2021 when she was tricked into thinking she was helping the NCA to ensnare criminals. Both Ms Fearn and Ms Oliphant were asked by the agency to help catch criminals working within HSBC Bank. The only difference between their cases appears to be the name used by the purported agency official; John Williams for Ms Fearn and Alan Smith for Ms Oliphant.
In another case, Alice Allen agreed to help the ‘Financial Conduct Authority’ (FCA) catch a criminal inside her bank, Lloyds which cost her £525,000. When Ms Allen challenged the scammers to provide proof that they were from the regulator they responded by asking her to check the number they had called her on which matched the telephone number listed on the FCA’s website. These scammers used ‘number spoofing’ enabling them to make it look like they were making the telephone call from any number they wish.
The number of ‘impersonation scams’ where criminals pretend to be from the police or a victim’s bank are drastically rising in the UK. The number of instances rose by 94% last year, costing victims approximately £100 million. These scams surged in lockdown as more of us are left isolated working at home.
It is crucial for individuals to remain vigilant and to remember that a bank or a genuine company will never ask them to move their money to a different account. Last year 60% of the money stolen by fraudsters was reimbursed by banks, but once an individual has fallen victim to this scam their chance of reimbursement from banks is a lottery.
Rosenblatt can help
Rosenblatt has a wealth of experience in financial crime and is uniquely placed to support client’s crime needs.
https://www.rosenblatt-law.co.uk/services/financial-crime/#financial-crime
https://www.rosenblatt-law.co.uk/services/serious-and-general-crime/
