Former Coronation Street and Hollyoaks star Adam Rickitt was close to tears as he told fans he had been scammed out of 'tens of thousands of pounds'. The soap actor took to Instagram to share what happened in a bid to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else.
Adam, who originally played Nick Tilsley in Corrie from 1997 to 1999 before launching a pop career, said he felt 'stupid' for getting tricked and claimed that the convincing scammers 'knew everything about him'.
"CONFESSION TIME! I know a lot of people will laugh at me for this... but I want to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else," he penned alongside a video of himself speaking to the camera from inside his bar, in Knutsford, Cheshire, which he owns with TV presenter wife Katy.
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"I got completely scammed this week by some fraudsters impersonating @barclaysuk. I was 100% sure it was the bank, that they were helping me and that I wasn't even transferring funds or giving any details away .Alas the former wasn't true...they managed to duplicate everything I thought to be safe...they knew EVERYTHING about me and my history with the bank...
"I know we all think we know what to do or how to react...but honestly I have never known the stress it created over the course of the scam... and now the embarrassment I feel." He continued: "I can't even begin to suggest how to protect yourself as I thought I was doing everything right...
"But please just be aware there's people out there who know exactly how to play the system," before adding: "Be safe." Speaking in the video, Adam said that he was told by the so-called bank employee that someone from the fraud department would call him to discuss the issue.
He explained: "I got a phone call from an 0845 number and the chap introduced himself said ‘I am ringing from Barclay’s fraud department', did the same security questions I always have. While I was on the phone to him on my laptop I even went on the Barclay’s website to check the number he was calling from and sure enough it was the Barclay’s fraud number."
He claims the man asked him to make a 'dummy payment', which would 'trigger a member of the fraud department'. When the actor said that he didn't want to do that, he was told that they would have no choice but to shut down his account. "So I went back on to my account and sure enough the money was gone," he said.
Adam also shared how he struggled to look at his wife Katy, who will be recognised for being a news correspondent on Good Morning Britain, in the eye due to his embarrassment.
After sharing his video, Adam was flooded with support from his celebrity pals and followers. Atomic Kitten star Liz McClarnon said: " Oh no!!! Ahh, I’m so sorry!" Loose Women's Kelle Bryan told him: " Mate don't feel stupid. They are absolute k***s. I am so sorry. Thank you so much for being so brave."
Hollyoaks actress Tamara Wall replied: "This just proves how easy it is, you are a very intelligent person and did all the right things to check … bravo for highlighting this and sending you all my love!!!!" Former co-star Chelsee Healey added: " Hope you're ok. Absolute scum bags."
A spokesperson for Barclays had told the Manchester Evening News they are unable to comment on specific cases, but warned of the dangers of banking scams. "We have every sympathy with our customer who was the victim of an impersonation scam.
"Scammers will often make calls and text messages look like they’re coming from a well-known company or organisation, such as a bank or the police. We encourage customers to be cautious of any unexpected text messages, calls and emails they receive and to be extra cautious if they are asked to call a number or open a link.
"No genuine bank would request customers 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, and to immediately alert us using the ‘Direct call’ option in the Barclays app. Customers should never reveal personal information, their PIN, PINsentry codes, mobile activation codes, QR codes, one-time passcodes or Online Banking passcodes” More information can be found on impersonation scams on the Barclays website.
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