Charlotte Morgan took to Twitter to share her horrible experience after thieves stole her bag with her phone and bank cards from her gym. They gained access to her Santander and Apple Pay accounts and went on a shopping spree at Apple and Selfridges stores in London.
Ms Morgan arrived at her local Virgin Active gym on the evening of August 24, where she claims the security barriers were not working, which usually only grant access to members.
She stored her belongings in her locker but when she returned from her workout, she found her rucksack with her phone, bank card and keys had been taken.
She claims that the thieves managed to “reset” her Santander and Apple Pay security log in, to go on a “whistle-stop” shopping spree.
They made three purchases at the Apple store in Westfield Shopping Centre, in White City, spending £3,000.
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Ms Morgan said in her Twitter thread: “Each transaction I’m told about hits me like a bullet.”
She was shocked to learn that the fraudsters had managed to access her Santander savings account and transfer over £2,500 for their spending spree.
She said: “I almost drop the borrowed phone. I’m speechless. How have they managed to bypass so much security and accomplish such financial destruction in so little time.”
Throughout her ordeal, she was unable to contact family or friends as she needed her stolen phone to access Facebook, Whatsapp or her iCloud.
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She claimed that Santander later contacted her to say that she would not be reimbursed as the payments were made using her pin number.
Ms Morgan said: “There is clearly a huge security loophole that they know about and until we crack it this will keep on happening.
“We’re talking seriously organized, sophisticated and calculated fraud on a scale and speed like never before. Ignoring it by blaming the victim cannot be the answer.”
She said that all of her codes, PINs and passwords were different, to ensure maximum protection for her accounts.
The thieves even stole the key to her bike lock, meaning she has had to spend £70 for a locksmith to break through a new £50 lock, before she spends another £50 on a replacement.
A spokesperson for Santander said: “We take protecting our customers’ accounts extremely seriously and have comprehensive fraud prevention systems in place.
“We are investigating the details outlined by our customer on social media as a matter of urgency and contacted them as soon as we were alerted to the case to discuss the issue further.”
The bank said they have attempted to contact Ms Morgan over the phone and through social media but have yet to get a response.
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