Banking

Holly Willoughby reveals she was almost tricked into handing over her bank details by text scammer 


She and Phillip Schofield are regularly joined by money experts on This Morning who warn of fraudsters trying to swindle money out of people. 

And, during Monday’s instalment of the show, Holly Willoughby, 41, revealed that she was almost tricked into handing over her bank details by a text scammer.

The presenter recalled the scary incident, admitting it was only after she clicked through and her bank details were requested that she realised it was a scam.

OMG! During Monday's instalment of  This Morning, Holly Willoughby , 41, revealed that she was almost tricked into handing over her bank details by a text scammer

OMG! During Monday’s instalment of  This Morning, Holly Willoughby , 41, revealed that she was almost tricked into handing over her bank details by a text scammer

During a segment on scam text messages, Holly told viewers: ‘The amount of times we talk about it and I did it the other day.

‘It was a text about a delivery that needed re-delivering. And I thought, ”Oh yeah, I probably do need to pay the re-delivery”.  

‘It was only when I clicked and saw you had to enter your bank details and I thought, ”Oh my god, don’t do it” and deleted it. Even though we talk about it all the time.’ 

Phillip added that Holly had gone ‘a long way’ into filling in the information requested by the fraudsters, before realising the truth, to which she admitted: ‘I did, I did, I did.’

Regular feature: She and Phillip Schofield are regularly joined by money experts on This Morning who warn of fraudsters trying to swindle money out of people

So close! The presenter recalled the scary incident, admitting it was only after she clicked through and her bank details were requested that she realised it was a scam

So close! The presenter recalled the scary incident, admitting it was only after she clicked through and her bank details were requested that she realised it was a scam

Asked what made her ascertain that it was a scam, Holly replied: ‘The moment I saw bank details I thought, ”Oh ok, I get this”.’

Holly’s admission comes just months after Strictly star Helen Skelton revealed how she lost her £70k life savings in internet banking scam

The Countryfile presenter admitted she felt ‘really stupid’ after falling for an internet banking scam in 2019, after answering a few questions during a ‘dodgy’ phone call from what she believed was her bank.

She explained: ‘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.’

Awful: Holly's admission comes just months after Strictly star Helen Skelton revealed how she lost her £70k life savings in internet banking scam

Awful: Holly’s admission comes just months after Strictly star Helen Skelton revealed how she lost her £70k life savings in internet banking scam  

Helen then explained how falling victim to a scammer is ‘easily done’ as everyone spends a lot of their lives online.

She penned: ‘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.’

Helen, who is mother to sons Ernie and Louis and daughter Elsie, nine months, with her ex husband, England rugby league player Richie Myler, previously revealed was looking after her children when she received the ‘dodgy’ phone call.

During an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine three years ago, Helen recalled: ‘I got phoned up by the bank, told something dodgy had been going on with my account. 

‘A week later, £70,000 had gone. All gone. And it was just a few questions over the phone.’

Shocking: Helen revealed in 2019 that she was scammed out of a staggering £70,000 after she answered a fake phone call she thought had come from her bank

Shocking: Helen revealed in 2019 that she was scammed out of a staggering £70,000 after she answered a fake phone call she thought had come from her bank

The former Blue Peter presenter added: ‘I had one kid up a tree, one wrestling the dog, another dog throwing up the kids’ birthday cake, then they phoned me from the bank and said, ‘Oh, something has gone on.’ You don’t question your bank.’

Helen explained how the scam happens ‘every day of the week’ to unsuspecting members of the public, adding: ‘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.’

Detailing how she broke down after the news, 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.

‘But it wasn’t just about money. I felt sick when I realised that I’d been speaking to the bloke robbing me. It felt like a total violation.’



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