Scammer convinced me to hand over my savings - he was so convincing

A young professional woman was conned out of her life savings of more than £6,500 by a scammer pretending to be from the bank Monzo. Linjing Peng, a 31 year old designer from Seven Sisters in north London, was duped into transferring money, applying for a loan, revealing passwords, and even giving her bank cards to the fraudster who claimed to be part of Monzo's fraud and security team.

The scammer, who spent hours on the phone with Linjing, convinced her that he was helping her avoid a "group of hackers" after warning her about unauthorised payments on her account. He persuaded her that her phone had been compromised, which could lead to hackers accessing all her personal information.

In a state of fear, Linjing complied with his instructions and handed over her bank cards to a courier under the belief they were needed as evidence. After answering numerous "security questions", she was tricked into taking out an overdraft and disclosing her Pin, before the scammer disconnected the call and emptied her account.

Linjing, a UK resident for over 12 years, has been left shaken after falling victim to an elaborate digital scam, losing £6,530. She reported the incident to the police and started a GoFundMe page to recover some of her losses.

"I think it actually gave me PTSD because I had nightmares for three days in a row, every night," she shared with PA Real Life. "It's starting to get better, but the first week was really tough.", reports the Mirror.

The scammer, who spoke with a "very well-educated, British accent" and appeared "very gentle and polite," contacted Linjing on November 9 as she was on her way to her studio in Bethnal Green.

Posing as a member of Monzo's fraud and security team, the caller claimed there was suspicious activity on her account. After checking her account and seeing unauthorised charges of £112, Linjing believed the caller was genuinely from her bank.

"From that moment on, I believed that person was legitimately calling from my bank," she recounted. "They said we have reason to believe your account details have been stolen."

The fraudster went on to explain that they had identified a group of hackers operating in the Liverpool area and were collaborating with the police to halt their activities. Linjing was warned that her phone had likely been cloned by these hackers, and it was crucial for her to change all her passwords immediately.

"He said they have access to my iCloud, Gmail, social media accounts... all my photos and contacts and could target my family and friends," Linjing recounted. "Hearing that, I was terrified, because I have so much private stuff on my phone. At that moment, I stopped suspecting anything and really believed that person was trying to help me."

The scammer then told Linjing he needed to ask her a few security questions, including whether she had any other banking apps on her phone.

"It might be that one of your other accounts has been jeopardised he told me," said Linjing who revealed she also had a Lloyds banking app. "They asked me to confirm my balance in my current and savings accounts."

Linjing had approximately £300 in her Monzo accounts and £3,500 in her Lloyds savings account.

Once she arrived at her studio, the scammer remained on the line while Linjing proceeded to change all of her passwords. "At the same time he was asking me all these questions about my cards," she said.

"This went on for a very long time."

Linjing was duped by a sophisticated scam, where she was convinced to hand over her bank cards to a supposed courier. "He said you will need to submit all your cards as evidence – that's the physical evidence we need to prosecute them," Linjing recounted the scammer's words.

After a convincing act of consulting with his 'supervisor', the fraudster claimed they would arrange for a courier to collect the cards. Shortly after, a car arrived outside Linjing's studio, and she handed over her bank cards.

Reflecting on the incident, Linjing admitted, "Just talking about it, I realise how silly it sounds... but he sounded very trusting."

She now suspects an Uber was simply ordered to pick up the cards, noting, "I now suspect they just ordered an Uber, because the driver was using his phone."

The scammer then manipulated Linjing into transferring her savings to her Monzo account, falsely assuring her it was "safer" in an "internet bank". "He said this will keep your money safe until we are able to secure your phone," Linjing continued.

Creating a false sense of urgency, the scammer warned her that hackers were trying to take out a £20,000 loan in her name. The only solution, according to the scammer, was for Linjing to cancel the loan application herself.

Overwhelmed and confused, Linjing followed their instructions. "I don't really know how the banking system works. I thought it made sense, so I followed," she explained, visibly upset.

"They were telling what buttons to click and I followed their steps."

The scammer cunningly persuaded Linjing to apply for a £20,000 loan and a £500 overdraft; the former was declined but it still negatively impacted her credit score. The scam reached its climax when Linjing was duped into sharing her PIN.

"He explained they needed my pin number in order to secure my account, otherwise they wouldn't be able to help me," she recounted. "I even received a text message with a verification number that looked exactly like the ones I normally get from Monzo."

Following the scammer's instructions, Linjing deleted and reinstalled the Monzo app under the pretense of an update.

Upon logging back in, she discovered her accounts emptied and her overdraft fully utilised. "I tried calling back but there was no answer," she said.

Linjing suffered a loss of £6,530, funds earmarked for her rent and studio expenses. Investigations revealed her money had been spent or withdrawn at Westfield in Stratford, including a £3,000 spree at an Apple store.

A subsequent call purportedly from Monzo's fraud team failed to trick her again as she responded by "shouting down the phone". Linjing has reported the incident to the police, Monzo, and Lloyds Bank, and started a GoFundMe page to recover her losses, which has raised £850 in donations so far.

To support Linjing, visit her GoFundMe page at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-lj-recover-from-a-devastating-phone-scam. In response to the rise in phone scams, Monzo last year introduced a "call status" feature that allows customers to confirm if it's genuinely Monzo calling them or if they're being targeted by fraudsters.

If the call status indicates that Monzo isn't on the line, customers are advised to end the call immediately. A spokesperson for Lloyds expressed empathy for Ms Peng, who fell victim to an impersonation scam, stating: "We have a great deal of sympathy for Ms Peng as the victim of an impersonation scam."

They added, "As no money was lost directly to fraudsters from her Lloyds account, we have advised she will need to contact Monzo to raise the scam claim. It's important to remember that your bank, the police nor any genuine organisation or company will ever ask you to move money to keep it safe."

The spokesperson also advised, "If you're ever in doubt, hang up and call back on a number you trust."

Meanwhile, a Monzo spokesperson commented on the incident: "We're sorry that this happened to our customer and can imagine how distressing it must have been. We are currently speaking to them to get the details here so we can investigate this case thoroughly."

Monzo emphasised their commitment to combating fraud and highlighted their investment in technologies like the call status tool, which confirms to customers within the app whether they are truly speaking to Monzo.

They concluded with a reminder for all customers to stay alert and to terminate any calls that seem suspicious, saying, "We are committed to fighting fraud at the source and have invested heavily in cutting-edge technology such as our call status tool which lets customers know in the app if they're really talking to Monzo. We urge all customers to remain vigilant and end the conversation if something doesn't feel right."