November 28th 2024.
Linjing Peng, a 31-year-old designer residing in north London, recently found herself in a distressing situation. She had been scammed out of her entire life savings of £6,500 by a group of well-educated individuals who pretended to be employees of her bank. It all began when Peng received a call from someone claiming to be a member of Monzo's fraud and security team. The caller informed her that there were unauthorized payments on her account and offered to help her evade a group of hackers who were responsible for the fraudulent activity.
Feeling terrified and desperate to protect her hard-earned money, Peng followed the caller's instructions to act quickly. This included handing over her bank cards to a courier who arrived at her workplace in a car. The caller had convinced her that the cards were needed as evidence to arrest the hackers. Despite being bombarded with security questions, Peng trusted the caller and even took out an overdraft and revealed her PIN before the call abruptly ended. When she tried to contact the caller again, there was no response.
Realizing that she had been scammed, Peng reported the incident to the police and even started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to try and recoup some of her losses. However, the incident had left her traumatized and she even experienced nightmares for three consecutive nights. The scammer had a very convincing British accent and seemed very polite and gentle, making Peng believe that he was a legitimate bank employee.
According to Peng, the scammer had informed her that there was a group of hackers operating in Liverpool and that they were working with the police to stop them. This made her panic, especially when the caller mentioned that they might have access to her social media accounts and other banking apps. In a state of panic, she confirmed her account balances and revealed that she had around £300 in her Monzo account and £3,500 in her Lloyds savings account.
The scammer then asked Peng to change all her account passwords while still on the phone with him. He also asked her to provide more information about her cards and even convinced her to press charges against the hackers, claiming that her cards were needed as evidence. Peng readily agreed and the scammer arranged for a courier to collect the cards. A car arrived a few minutes later and she handed over her cards, feeling relieved that the scammers would finally be caught.
However, the scammer then urged Peng to transfer her savings to her Monzo account, claiming that it would be safer than keeping it in an internet bank. He even created a sense of urgency by warning her that the hackers were attempting to take out a £20,000 loan in her name. In order to stop this, the scammer instructed Peng to cancel the loan application herself. Not fully understanding how the banking system worked, Peng followed his instructions and unknowingly applied for a £20,000 loan and a £500 overdraft. Thankfully, the loan was refused, but this has now negatively impacted her credit score.
Feeling relieved that she had foiled the hackers' plan, Peng gave the scammer her PIN and even received a text message with a verification number that appeared to be from Monzo. The scammer then asked her to delete and reinstall the Monzo app, claiming that it had been updated. When Peng logged back in, she was shocked to find that her accounts had been emptied and her overdraft maxed out. She tried to call the scammer back, but there was no response. It was later discovered that her funds had been withdrawn or spent at Westfield shopping center in Stratford, East London, including £3,000 at an Apple store.
Peng immediately reported the fraud to the police and also started a fundraiser to help recoup her losses. Fortunately, she has received some support, with £850 in donations so far. In response to the incident, Monzo has launched a call status tool that allows customers to verify if they are actually talking to a Monzo representative or if it is a scam call. The bank has also urged its customers to remain vigilant and end the conversation if something doesn't feel right.
A spokesperson for Lloyds expressed sympathy for Peng's situation and advised her to contact Monzo to raise a claim as no money was lost directly from her Lloyds account. Monzo also issued a statement apologizing for the incident and stating that they are committed to fighting fraud and have invested in technology such as the call status tool. They are currently investigating Peng's case and urge all customers to remain vigilant against scams.
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