The bank scam that nearly cost Moira Stuart a fortune: How BBC News broadcaster almost fell victim to £460m fraud that targets 230K people a year… so how can YOU avoid being duped?

Former BBC News broadcaster Moira Stuart has revealed how she almost became one of the 230,000 annual victims of authorised push payment (APP) fraud.

The method can take a number of forms including where criminals impersonate a bank or the police and convince someone to transfer money to a ‘safe account’.

Other common APP fraud schemes that regularly dupe Britons include purchase scams, where victims are hoodwinked into paying for goods that never materialise; or romance scams, where people are tricked into believing they are in a relationship.

The scams are generally carried out online via social media and email, or via phone using a call, text or WhatsApp message – with criminals trying to get people to transfer money or trick them into handing over personal details and passwords.

Fraudsters may pose as the victim’s bank, or as a relative or friend – and aim to get the victim to ‘authorise’ a payment by voluntarily transferring the money.

The total number of APP cases was up 12 per cent to 232,000 last year according to UK Finance – although overall APP fraud losses were down 5 per cent to £460million.

Now, Classic FM presenter Stuart has spoken out about her experiences of an APP scam after she almost lost thousands of pounds to a fraudster.

Stuart, who has previously reported on fraud, was only saved by the vigilance of a bank cashier after being unaware of what was actually happening.

She told The Times that she received a phone call at 9am claiming to be from her bank, which said someone was working with staff at her local branch to remove money from her account.

Stuart said: ‘I had absolutely no idea I was being scammed. The fraudster stayed on the phone the whole time and told me it was an inside job at my bank they had uncovered.

‘He told me to stay on my mobile so he could tell me what to say to bank staff at the new branch. He said, ‘We’re going to send this amount of money from your account and see what happens if they intercept it.’ ‘

She was still on the phone when she arrived at the bank counter, when a cashier questioned what she was doing and said: ‘Can you wait a moment please, madam?’

Stuart continued: ‘Then he took me to one side and said, ‘This doesn’t sound right,’ and now I can’t thank him enough.’ She was put on to the bank’s anti-fraud team, which confirmed that it was a scam.

‘I was absolutely devastated, embarrassed and angry with myself. If you’re very independent, as I am, it feels like you have let yourself down, your family, everyone who knows you. This feeling, this intrusion, it doesn’t leave you.’

Stuart is now working with AbilityNet, a charity backed by BT Group which helps older people learn new digital skills to stay safe online.

It comes after the number of fraud cases where criminals impersonate a bank or the police fell by 37 per cent last year and the amount lost to this type of fraud fell by 28 per cent. 

Experts have put this down to a significant investment made in warning consumers that a bank will never ask someone to transfer money in this way.

But the number of romance scams reached its highest level in losses and cases last year, which were up by 17 per cent to £36.5million and 14 per cent respectively.

And total purchase scams rose 34 per cent to 156,000, while the amount lost rose 28 per cent to £85.9million – making it the highest loss and case total on recorded.

Even when criminals are unable to get their victims into making a payment through the APP scam, they can use personal information gathered as well as stolen card details to either take over existing accounts or apply for new credit cards.

While card ID theft losses increased by 53 per cent to £79.1million last year, victims of unauthorised fraud cases such as these are legally protected against losses.

In total £287million of APP losses was returned to victims last year or 62 per cent of the total loss. This has increased from 59 per cent in 2022.

UK Finance is backing a three-point campaign called ‘Take Five to Stop Fraud’ which urges people to take a moment to ‘Stop’ and think before parting with their money or information.

The second point is ‘Challenge’, where people are advised to consider whether it could be fake and that it is OK to reject, refuse or ignore any requests – given that only criminals will try to rush or panic you.

The final point is ‘Protect’, where consumers are urged to contact their bank immediately if they think they have fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.