Scammers posing as Amazon staff snatched more than £2,000 from a grieving widow's bank account.
Margaret Eggett, 68, received a text message from an unknown number stating she had made a £79.99 payment to Amazon. The pensioner, who lives alone after her husband Michael died last year, called the phone number to query the payment because she didn't hold an account with the retail giant.
Margaret said she spoke to a man who claimed to work for the e-commerce company. She said the man apologised for the business' mistake and told Margaret to download an app called AnyDesk to get a refund.
READ MORE: Dad says Ryanair rules 'ruined' all-inclusive holiday in Spain
Unknown to the pensioner, the app is a remote assistance software and allows someone to access your device if you provide a code. Shortly after, Margaret noticed more than £2,000 had been taken from her bank account in two payments.
The heartbroken gran, from West Lothian, has been left in debt from the theft, leaving her overdrawn just weeks before a dream two-week cruise around the Mediterranean. Her bank Santander has also denied her two fraud claims in a bid to retrieve her missing cash.
Margaret told the Daily Record : "I phoned the number and the man that answered said he worked for Amazon. He told me I needed to download an app to get my money back.
"He asked me to verify my name and my phone number. I didn't know any better. When I was on the phone I checked my online banking and I questioned them as I noticed £999.99 and a further £1080 had come out.
"My pension and PIP were due on Friday and I thought I would be able to pay off my overdraft as I've booked a cruise in three weeks. Now I've been left in debt. I've only got £400 left on my overdraft.
"I've been in some state over it all. I just feel like I'm not getting anywhere." Margaret contacted her bank about the two fraud claims, but both of her complaints were denied.
She believes Santander should have stopped the transaction immediately and flagged it as suspicious. The scammers used her name as a reference on the transactions - leading the fraud team to believe she had paid herself.
She has now reported the incident to Police in Scotland. The theft is an extra blow to Margaret, who recently had two foot operations and is still grieving the loss of her husband Michael after he died of pneumonia.
Margaret said: "I lost my husband and best friend Michael last year. He was all I ever needed. He died in my arms on March 5, 2021. We met when we were 17."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Officers received a report of a telephone banking scam on Wednesday, May 11 Enquiries are ongoing."
A Santander spokesperson said: "We take protecting our customers from fraud and scams extremely seriously and have a great deal of sympathy for people targeted by the criminals who carry out these scams. Our fraud team work hard to prevent and detect fraud and we will investigate the details of any claims made by our customers.”
An Amazon spokesperson said: “Scammers that attempt to impersonate Amazon put our customers and our brand at risk. Although these scams take place outside our store, we will continue to invest in protecting customers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage customers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe. Please visit our help pages to find additional information on how to identify scams and report them.”
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
