Ulsterman’s ‘unimaginable ordeal’ after he lost £25,000 to cruel scammers

But that is exactly what happened to the father-of-two in March 2018 when he fell victim to a clever text scam, which, in a matter of minutes, cost him much of his and his wife Tricia’s hard-earned money, including his recent severance package.

Somehow the scammers had inserted a fake text into his bank’s text-stream on his mobile phone.

The convincing message had him believing his bank was contacting him to warn him of fraudulent activity on his debit card – when nothing of the sort was happening.

Hurrying to protect his account he rang a number on the fake text warning, which, unbeknownst to Mr Leakey, actually put him through to a fraudster, calling herself ‘Tanya’. That was when the real fraud happened.

He said: “The woman had a very posh English accent and she convinced me she was a bank employee. I did make a mistake and I shouldn’t have passed over security information, but this is what I wanted to make clear (in the book), what your bank will ask you and what they will never ask you.”

Mr Leakey’s bank did eventually pay the money back, but it took a long time.

“It took nine months before our bank actually recompensed us and they gave us compensation. We had gone as far as the financial ombudsman and were waiting for their verdict, but the bank didn’t wait, which suggested they realised there had been failings in their systems and they did let us down.”

Mr Leakey pointed out the pair would not normally have such a large sum of money in their account.

“My job had disappeared the year before and I was given a severance package and my wife had also retired as a classroom assistant, otherwise we wouldn’t have had all that money. It was money we needed to live by.”

After recovering the money he lost, Mr Leakey decided to use his experience to help others and has penned a book entitled ‘Scam Survivor – How One Victim Fought Back’ offering practical advice on how to protect your money and bank account, as well as how you can recover well from a scam if you ever do fall victim. After telling the story of what happened on that fateful day and how he and his wife picked themselves up and fought to recover their losses, the book includes lots of very practical advice and information to help two different kinds of reader.

It is aimed first at those who have not yet been a victim of fraud, and want to know how to spot a scam and protect themselves better.

It is also for those who have been the victim of a scam who may despair of ever recovering their money, or of getting over the trauma of the experience.

Mr Leakey said the whole experience was “just awful”.

“It was the worst experience of my life. I’d never had mental health issues before, but my wife and I were traumatised - me in particular because I let them (the scammers) in.

“There’s a whole chapter in the book called Healing from the Trauma and after the event I did look at what trauma is and how psychiatrists help counsel people. We did the things that they recommend and I talk in the book about taking charge of your own recovery and so even if you don’t end up getting your money back, it’s vital you take charge of your emotional recovery.”

He added: “I talk about the steps of our campaign. We went to the consumer association Which? who were really helpful.

“Our bank was accusing us of being grossly negligent, but you mustn’t let that define you, because everybody is bigger than one mistake.”

Mr Leakey said he wants to help others be more vigilant and show what steps we can, and should, all be taking to protect our money from “heartless online, cold-calling, and door-step thieves”.

He also wants to encourage the many despairing victims with their story and practical advice.

“While recovery of lost money is by no means guaranteed and will depend on the circumstances of each scam, it is vital that every victim takes charge of their recovery, draws on the circle of support around them, and the wide range of professional guidance there is, and finds healing from the trauma.”

The book includes excellent practical guidance on all of this and includes much useful information on what to do and whom people can contact at each stage.

It reveals: how an online or text scam can happen; strategies for getting back on your feet, and fighting to recover one’s money; how to deal with the trauma of getting scammed; how to spot a scam, avoid a scam and protect oneself from future scams; information on the many and evolving scams that are out there; and where to find professional help and advice.

Mr Leakey said anyone can fall victim to a scam.

“There’s some research in the book that it’s actually millennials who are the ones that are most frequently stung (by scammers) and it’s partly because they spend so much time online and they get complacent.

“The other group that get stung are the elderly. They aren’t stung as often, possibly because they aren’t online so much, but they tend to lose much larger amounts.

“We heard of a senior police officer and someone else who had been a fraud specialist who lost even more than we lost. Scammers are very cunning.

“I think they are heartless, I think they are cold, they are cruel, they probably have no idea of the heartache they are causing people.

“It’s hidden crime and I am on a mission to do my bit to make it harder for the fraudsters by people becoming more vigilant and informed.

“When you tell the police you have been a victim they create a crime case with Action Fraud - but they are getting 25,000 submissions every month, there’s just no way they can deal with that.

“It’s a pandemic in itself. It would be lovely if some of them were exposed and they could shut some of them down.”

Dr Leakey said that as a Christian, and as part of dealing with his emotions, he had to try to forgive the fraudsters, but admitted it isn’t easy.

“For them, it’s a bit of fun and easy money, but they are causing immense suffering.”

*Scam Survivor – How One Victim Fought Back, by Jonathan Leakey is available on Amazon priced at £3.49 for the e-book and £7.99 in paperback.