A Glenkens pensioner has bravely spoken out after almost being robbed of her life savings by abusive fraudsters.
Patricia Wheeler was tricked into going into her online account by crooks pretending to be from her bank.
But just as they were about to steal her cash the real bank texted to check her transactions.
Payments totalling £2,100 being removed from her account were stopped just in time.
And she fears that if that payment had gone through the scammers would have gone on and “cleared me out”.
The conmen – who had cloned the bank’s phone number – then subjected Patricia, 68, to horrific verbal abuse.
Her savings remained intact but not her self-confidence.
Patricia, from Kendoon, told the News: “The man said I was a stupid bitch for giving them £2,500 for games and toys.
“I just went into shock – he said that just to distress me more.
“I dread to think what would have happened if they had gone on. They would just have cleared me out.
“The police assumed the scammers verbally abused me because they ended up with nothing.
“Now I feel I can’t physically go online and get an overdraft and use cash as much as I can.
“What I can’t get through my head is how can I have been so stupid?”
She added: “This has shaken me to the core because I thought of myself as a very savvy person.
“I have watched this on TV then you go and do it yourself – they just sounded so plausible.
“They do untold damage to your mental health, they really do. This has certainly knocked mine.
“Hopefully telling what happened to me will make people report it.
“The police are still working on it – but the chances of catching them are pretty much nil.”
Patricia’s ordeal began with a 6pm phone call from someone from her “bank”. The voice queried “a possible fraudulent transaction of £900” and she was put through to “the fraud department”.
A second man warned another £1,200 was being withdrawn and told her to log in to see the transactions.
Patricia’s sister was suspicious but the contact number on the bank card matched the caller’s – convincing Patricia the check was genuine.
She said: “I had no idea they could clone the bank’s number. Meantime my real bank sent a text to check transactions on my account.
“They wanted to know if I had made them, yes or no. I said no and they stopped the transactions.
“This guy then called me a stupid bitch and switched the phone off. I thought you have tried to rob me and now you are abusing me?”
Patricia contacted Police Scotland and was given a secure number to call her bank. She now uses another mobile to phone up to check calls or texts.
She said: “If someone from a ‘bank’ suspiciously phones you put the phone down and call police on 115 on a different phone. Ask to be put through to your bank to check they are making the call – that’s your failsafe. That’s how I do banking online now because I know it’s safe and secure.”
“I will do everything I can to stop these evil people. At least if I wasted an hour of their time I have saved somebody else.”
