A woman from Edinburgh was scammed out of £21,000 by a cruel phone hacker who posed as a well-known high street bank.
Moisa Constantin-Florin called a woman in Edinburgh on June 28, 2021, and told her he worked for the bank, police said. The 24-year-old said there had been fraudulent activity on her account and that she needed to move all of her money to a new one report the Manchester Evening News.
The Santander customer from the capital was convinced by the caller and sent £21,996.38 to the new account. She later became suspicious, police said, and called Santander directly to double check.
An investigation was launched which found the money had been transferred into Florin's account. Santander were able to recover £16,996.38 of the stolen cash.
But £5,000 of the money had already been moved to other accounts. Cheshire Police tracked down Florin in the Northwich area but found he had fled the country.
A wanted appeal was launched and Florin was arrested by police in London on August 22 this year after officers stop checked a car on Barking Road. Police found £4,135 cash in the car, as well as a number of mobile phones, sim cards and notepads containing various bank account details.
Florin, of Central Park Road, East Ham, London, was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and possession of criminal property. He pleaded guilty and was jailed for 15 months at Chester Crown Court on December 22.
After the sentencing Detective Constable Claire Heatley, of Northwich Proactive Team, said: "Florin was extremely convincing when he contacted the victim and persuaded her to transfer all of the money, but thanks to her suspicions she quickly reported the incident to Santander and they agreed to reimburse the victim for all the money she had lost, meaning that she is not out of pocket.
"Sadly this is not always the case, and in the age of digital and telephone banking it’s essential that we all take extra care. You should never share your passwords or bank details, and if you get a phone call from someone claiming to work for your bank and something doesn’t sound right just put the phone down and ring your bank directly, or alternatively visit your local bank."
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