Scammers stole more than £2,000 from a grieving widow's bank account after pretending to work for Amazon. Pensioner Margaret Eggett, from Livingston in Scotland, received a text from a number she did not recognise informing her that she had paid £79.99 to the online retailers.
Knowing she did not hold an account with Amazon, the 68-year-old gran called the number to query the message. Margaret, who has lived alone since her husband Michael died from pneumonia last year, then received an apology on the other end of the phone – but it was from a person only posing as an Amazon employee.
To receive a refund, she was subsequently instructed to download the AnyDesk app, which allows another person to remotely access your device if you provide them with a code. Moments later, Margaret realised that two payments of £999.99 and £1,080 had been taken from her account, which left her overdrawn and in debt just weeks before she was set to go on a cruise of the Mediterranean.
