Helen Skelton has revealed that she 'feels really stupid' after falling for an internet scam which cost her her life savings.
The TV star lost £70,000 that was meant for her 'children's future' back in 2019 after falling victim to a fake caller. And now, to stop it happening to others, Helen has teamed up with Lloyds Bank to discuss her fears for her children's online safety.
Speaking about online safety and the worry she has about her son, she said: "The notion of him chatting to his mates online scares me a bit, I don’t know that world and we’ve all heard plenty of things that could go wrong."
She added: "I mean, come on – even as adults it is so easy to fall victim to a fraudster. I’ve done it – it has happened to me. It makes you feel really stupid. But it has happened to so many people who aren’t stupid.”
Helen went on to say that it's so easy to fall for scams as everyone spends a lot of their lives online. In the caption of the post, Helen wrote: “I personally know the pain of being defrauded, so it is incredibly important to me that my children are equipped to spot a scam, even in the seemingly harmless environment of a video game.”
The 39-year-old, who is mum to sons Ernie and Louis with estranged husband Richie Myler, previously opened up about the horrible incident. Appearing on Lorraine, she said: "I got phoned up by the bank, told something dodgy had been going on with my account. A week later £70,000 had gone."
Stunned Lorraine gasped, saying: "£70,000?! Jesus..."
Helen nodded: "All gone, and it was just a few questions over the phone. The reason I've made this programme is because it happens every day of the week.
"We're not talking about little old ladies who are victims who don't understand the internet, that's a massively naive assumption. It's happening to people and they're too embarrassed to say that it's happened."
After the incident, Helen revealed that she was sucked in by the trap because the caller seemed so 'nice and genuine'.
Helen added: "I cried buckets when I realised.
"That money was meant to be for my children’s future. I was thinking of my kids, and about how I would have to work even more and not see them to try to get it back."
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