Scamming

[elcee45]

Can anyone give me some advice a 69 year old friend of mine was taken in by a romance scammer and sent him money that he asked for, where does she stand in getting her money back, does the fact that she was taken in rather than someone getting her bank details matter, at the end of the day she was scammed, she tried to stop the money, the bank said that it was still in her account but when she rechecked it was taken out. Surely the banks could do something because they have the receiving account no, but the bottom line is she authorised the transaction.

[TWR]

I'm sorry to say, your friend has to foot the cost, with respect to elderly, DO NOT SEND MONEY TO ANYONE that you do not know. Regards to your friend Elcee.x

[factor-fiction]

It's a sad story but I can't see a case for the bank (and ultimately other customers) taking the hit. They processed the transaction in good faith. Now maybe if she'd paid by credit card...

[elcee45]

Thanks TWR, I did think that would be the case, I was just too late to get the money stopped for her. I turned detective and managed to find out who the person in the photos was, he was a model who's identity was stolen and used by these people to get money from the unsuspecting.

[elcee45]

TY factor- fiction, I did think that myself, I think the fraud squad are involved, his profile is still on Facebook with his stolen photographs. I was a day too late in hearing about it or I could have stopped the money. C'est la vie!

[jno]

I would have though tthe bank could have stopped payment if she asked them while the money was still in her account, though?

[elcee45]

Yes, JNO she was so worried she got up and phoned the bank in the middle of the night and they said it was still there and gave her an international banking no to phone at 8.30am which she did, it was still there then and they said it wouldn't go out, but when she checked later on it was gone, they said that the system had not updated and the money showed it was there but it had been paid. The very fact they had a receiving account should have been enough to either stop or track it.

[jno]

well, quite. I'm not sure the bank has done its job here, but others who know about these things may be able to give better advice.

[ToraToraTora]

All may not be lost, it depends on the system but to stop a payment they often enter a contra transaction so interbank it will look like it's gone then come back. Was this all today?

[elcee45]

ToraToraTora, I spoke to my friend on Sunday evening and I said it looked like a scam, so it was Monday very early am she phoned the bank, and 8.30am the international bank,it showed still there both times then I am not sure when she actually sent the money. But when she checked later on in the morning (Monday) it had gone. It was over £500 I just so wish I had spoken to her earlier in the week and advised never to send money, but she believed his sob story about his daughter and was convinced he was genuine.

[joko]

she is 69 but was being romanced by a model? a young one?

i would imagine they will not be too happy to lose out to refund her stupidity i'm afraid, they may suspect she is in on the scam, its hard to believe people can genuinely be so gullible

[elcee45]

Joko, no it did not say he was a model, the model was the one that got his photos hacked. After searching I found out this. I think she was flattered that this younger man was speaking to her, he had lots of sob stories and she is a trusting person and believed him. We all make stupid mistakes sometimes in our lives. This was an expensive one for her.

[TWR]

Elcee, there are very many scams on the net via emails, advise your friend not to open ANY EMAIL from a source she does not know, our so called friends from Nigeria are a threat, the Far East regards PC Problems, her bank telling her they need to upgrade her bank details, advise her for her own good, if in doubt ask her to call you, if she's a member of this site, members will advise her, there are hundreds of B@sdards out there that will rip you off & the WEB is full of them, IF IN DOUBT ASK. regards to her x

[elcee45]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

[pixie373]

Surely the bank could and should have prevented it leaving her account, if she rang while they still had her money and she told them it was a scam?

[elcee45]

Thanks for your comment Pixie, but they say although it was showing as being there it really wasn't, the system hadn't updated.

[pixie373]

Sorry, i misunderstood that. I'm sorry for her. I hope it wasn't a huge amount.