After his family was tricked by scammers on WhatsApp, a grandpa said he lost money saved for Christmas presents.
The 75-year-old, who asked to remain unnamed, said they were duped on the messaging service by fraudsters posing as his granddaughter.
He gave the con artists £1,550 in exchange for a phony emergency medical bill.
Others are being warned about the fraud by WhatsApp and trading standards officials.
‘You make me feel like an idiot.’
Fraudsters impersonating the young student emailed her father a message claiming she had a case of hemorrhoids and was embarrassed to discuss it. Following texts indicated that she need funds for private medical treatment and requested that the funds be provided immediately.
The proper spelling of her uncommon name persuaded her family that it was real, and her grandfather consented to pay the fictitious bill.
Attempts to reach her personally were unsuccessful, since the calls were routed to an answering machine.
They only got through to her after the money was given, and they realized they had been duped.
Her granddad remarked, “You feel like such a fool.” “I was enraged that I had been tricked.”
Her granddad remarked, “You feel like such a fool.” “I was enraged that I had been tricked.”
“You become used to these scam calls, but they are becoming increasingly sophisticated. “If they can deceive people like me, a lot of extremely vulnerable people will be in danger.” “I used to operate my own business, so if they can fool people like me, a lot of very vulnerable people will be in trouble.”
He is trying to get the money back from his bank, but they have refused to pay him so far, claiming that their fraud checks were adequate.