Hopes that new online bill will offer ‘protection’ against scams

UUP Bann MP Carla Lockhart was speaking after a couple from Armagh were swindled out of almost £80,000 in a bank transfer scam.

The pair were duped after receiving a call on Sunday from a person claiming they were from “the fraud squad” of police in London.

The man was told his account had been hacked and to check it.

When he noticed a transaction on his account he did not make, he was told to create a separate account to transfer funds.

Both the man and his wife did this and in a matter of minutes, £77,000 was transferred from their accounts.

The PSNI said inquiries into the issue are ongoing.

Ms Lockhart, meanwhile, said legislation is required to tackle the problem.

“Onlne fraud has increased massively in the last few years, particularly with lockdown when people began using their devices a lot more,” she told the News Letter.

“I know a gentleman who was scammed out of £200,000. Any legislation that comes forward in terms of the Online Safety Bill needs to include scamming, and it needs to include robust protections.”

Her party colleague, Strangford MP Jim Shannon, said: “It is about raising awareness. The online bill over here [Westminster] will give some protection but it is still down to the individual not to respond to scams.

“Banks will never phone you to discuss your banking details. Don’t discuss your banking with someone who phones you.”

Commenting on the £80,000 scam in Armagh, local MLA William Irwin said: ““This is a really concerning incident and my thoughts are with the couple who have lost their hard earned money in what is a sickening criminal act. The scammers have obviously been very sophisticated in their actions, putting pressure and fear on the couple who were told their accounts were compromised. Hopefully the PSNI and the bank can fully investigate this and fully assist the couple who have been so callously conned by these criminal elements.”

PSNI Inspector Mark Conway said: “Any amount of money lost to a scammer is a horrible experience. In this particular case, where such a significant amount of money has been taken, it is devastating.

“This couple have been conned out of their hard-earned cash – tens of thousands of pounds. We can only imagine how distressing and traumatic this ordeal is for them. I want to appeal to people that on no account should anyone disclose their personal or financial details over the phone. Please, be on your guard. Scammers are relentless and are constantly finding ways and means to con people.”