Warning over QR scam after gang duped unsuspecting pensioner, 71, out of £13,000

18 November 2023 , 17:29

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After the incident rail firm TransPennine Express removed all QR codes from its car parks. File image (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Train passengers have been given a warning after an elderly woman lost £13,000 in a heartless QR code scam.

The woman who has not been named fell victim to the scam while in a car park of Thornaby Station, Thornaby, where scammers covered over the station's code with their own. That QR code took the woman to a fake website which allowed the scammers to to steal her card information as well as redirect payments.

After the incident, which happened in August, rail firm TransPennine Express removed all QR codes from its car parks after reports of similar scams. The incident at the station is said to be one of around 1,200 QR scams that are currently being investigated by the UK's National Fraud Reporting Centre.

When the victim was first scammed several fraudulent payments were blocked by her bank. After this, the BBC reported that the fraudsters called her pretending to be bank staff before convincing her these transactions were legitimate. They also set up an online banking account and changed her address while calling for new cards to be sent out.

Despite happening nearly six months ago, the victim is reportedly still waiting for her credit card to be frozen. She told the BBC that she wouldn’t be using a QR code ever again. She said: "When the scammer called, he was so convincing and gave me a sense of security by mentioning transactions from my account that I recognised.

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"But even while I was on the phone, he was logging into my accounts as me and took out a loan in 20 minutes. I can't believe I fell for it. Luckily, I had another credit card to survive on, but without that and help from my son, I don't know how I would have coped."

In a statement, VirginMoney said they had written off a loan made during the scam and refunded all fraudulent transactions, reports the Express. A spokesperson for the bank said the scammers had made off with £4,700 and other transactions had been blocked.

William Walker