How A Fake Text Led To Student Being Scammed Out Of "Every Penny"

A woman has spoken up about how she was "scammed out of every penny" she had in the hope that her story will serve as a warning to others. British student Emmeline Hartley shared her experience in a Twitter thread that has gone viral online. 

Ms Hartley moved 1,000 pounds out of her account after a man claiming to be from Barclays Bank called her. 

In her tweet, the 28-year-old said that on Friday, she received a text from Royal Mail saying that she owed 2.99 pounds in postage fee. According to the Evening Standard, the Royal Mail scam, to which thousands have fallen prey, involves a text message stating that a user owes a settlement fee or asking for "unpaid shipping fee" on a package.

Without thinking too much about it, and unaware of the scam, Ms Hartley entered her bank details.

The following day, a man claiming to be from Barclays Bank called her and said that someone had tried to set up direct debits in her account and also attempted a transaction of over 300 pounds.

Ms Hartley says the fraudster posing a bank employee took her through security measures before informing her that since putting in her bank details in the text had put her online banking at risk, she needed to transfer her money to a new account.

He persuaded her to transfer 1,000 pounds - which she says is "every penny I had" - into a new account. The drama student says she only realised what was happening when he asked her to transfer her overdraft.

Read the full account below:

I mentioned yesterday that I'd been scammed out of every penny I had. Thought I'd post what happened in case it helps anyone avoid being in the same position. Please save the lectures, I don't think it's possible for me to feel any stupider ????????‍♀️ #royalmailscam #safeaccountscam pic.twitter.com/YRrh8W6uje

— Emmeline Hartley (@EmmelineHartley) March 21, 2021

Emmeline Hartley's story has been shared thousands of times on Twitter. Many in the comments section also opened up about their own experiences with financial frauds.

So sorry this happened to you! I get so many texts like this it is hard to know which are genuine. Glad I took my chances with this one now and gave them a piece of my mind ???? I really hope the bank does the decent thing and helps you ???????? pic.twitter.com/79zCqvjVL7

— Sam ???? (@samputtsx) March 22, 2021

You've done a great service by sharing this Emmeline. I got a text from these Royal Mail imposters minutes after leaving the Post Office having just posted a parcel. This is how they play the odds, hoping to hit enough people just when their text might sound plausible. pic.twitter.com/cPhqDNvcJn

— Andrew Penman (@PenmanMirror) March 22, 2021

According to BBC, the bank has now agreed to fully reimburse her.

A spokesperson for Barclays said: "No genuine bank would message you to transfer money to a 'safe account' - we advise any customers to ignore anyone who asks to do this, whether it's by phone, email or any other method."