‘Fraudster conned me out of £64,000 life savings – then my bank refused to help’

In May, Alma Burtt, 60, lost her life savings after receiving a fake text purporting to have come from her bank Lloyds. She was instructed to call a phone number supplied by the fraudster to verify a transaction.

Alma said it isn’t unusual for her bank to send similar texts, so she did what she was told and that’s when her nightmare began.

She was immediately entangled in a scam orchestrated by a fraudster claiming to work for Lloyds, that has cast a shadow over her life ever since.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Lloyds has refused to offer reimbursement for her losses, saying that Alma herself was at fault.

Alma is far from alone. Last year, Britons lost £479million to authorised push payment (APP) and reimbursement rates remain shockingly low. Banks found victims at least partly responsible for their losses in 77 percent of cases, despite a new code to support victims.

Two banks found the customer fully liable in more than nine in 10 decisions, according to consumer champion Which?.

Alma is now keen to publicise the threat to protect others.

The scammer told Alma, from Hampshire, that there were security concerns with her bank account and instructed her to call a phone number he had supplied to verify a recent transaction.

He quickly won her trust, saying he would order a new debit card and persuading her to download a remote access app called AnyDesk to secure her account. 

Alma had no idea this meant the scammer could block any warning texts sent by the real Lloyds.

She said: “I had no reason to disbelieve this person. He sounded very professional and convincing, and said he was transferring funds to secure them.”

The crook told her to not hang up on the landline or speak to family members or the bank, saying they could be the scammers.

READ MORE: Santander scam warning: Teen loses £700 meant for rent to scammers

A Lloyds spokesperson said that unfortunately Alma did not take sufficient steps to verify the identity of the caller.

“She also downloaded software which granted the fraudster access to her device and her online banking account.

“When we blocked the first payment due to unusual activity, she called us and told us the payments were for her cousin and confirmed the transaction should go ahead.”

Now the Financial Ombudsman Service will decide who is in the right.