Urgent warning after Tyrone woman loses almost £900 in scam

A Tyrone woman who fell victim to a scam which saw her lose hundreds of pounds in the run-up to Christmas has warned others to be cautious of suspicious text messages and emails.

The woman, who lives in the Castlederg area but wishes to remain anonymous, said that she received a text message last week which read, “Hi mum, my phone is broke. Phone me on this number.”

Upon calling the phone number, she said it seemed like the signal was poor on the other end, before receiving a text message which read, “I can’t hear you.”

“I realise now that throughout the whole process, I never actually spoke to a human being,” said the victim of the scam.

“I received a second text message where they stated that they couldn’t access their online banking and asking if I could pay a bill for them.”

UNIVERSITY FEES

The victim said she was under the impression that the request was in relation to their son’s university fees.

The scammers provided an account number, sort code and a request for a large sum of money, claiming they were from an organisation known as ‘Neo Dempsey’.

The victim of this ruthless scam lost £879 and reported the incident to their bank and to the police.

“I have also spoken with the Action Fraud Team and I am currently waiting on a call back from them with an update,” she said.

“I have also spoken to a local police officer who informed that they had also fell victim to a similar scam in recent years.

“I would very much like to put the message out there that this sort of thing could happen to anyone, so please be cautious if you receive any suspicious text messages or emails – especially in the run-up to Christmas.”