Have I been involved in fraud ?!

[cakeslenon6]

Hey everyone, I need some advice because I’m panicking right now.

I received a call from a friend I trust who said their account wasn’t working and they needed to make a payment for something. They asked if someone could send money to my account and then I forward it to my Revolut account so they could complete a payment through a Moonpig page. I agreed and didn’t really think anything of it at the time.

I received a transfer of £1,306 and followed their instructions. A few hours later, I tried to send the money on, but my account was suddenly restricted.

I checked my banking messages and they’re now asking for additional information about where the money came from, whether I know the person, and to provide any supporting evidence.

I’ve responded explaining what my friend told me and I’ve also sent a screenshot of the Moonpig request they mentioned. However, the conversation originally happened over the phone, so I don’t have any text messages or written proof of them asking me to do this.

I’m now really worried because I feel like I may have unknowingly been involved in fraud, and I don’t know what this means for me or what I should do next.

I have a holiday coming up next month and I’ve never experienced this before will the police get involved or would I have my account closed down what’s going to happen ?!

You probably wouldn’t unless you’ve have AML training, but it’s something that is always emphasised

Hi everyone just a little update I have contacted my bank this morning they told me they cannot give much update which I know and that’s fine but I’ve told them everything and I said I’m happy to give any information I sent them a screenshot of me reporting it to my other bank which now has contacted me to let me aware that I have been a victim I hope my main bank which is starling bank can also identify I was a victim too I have included the email I was sent from my second bank I was told to send to I’m just praying and hoping I’m not in any trouble I feel sick that I could have possibly help someone do fraud without knowing I can’t believe I’m so dumb

Definitely a scam. Although this sort of thing is usually done through email or other messaging platforms, but things are becoming more sophisticated by the day. Contact your bank OP and explain the situation if you haven't already.

Firstly speak to the friend. Then speak to the bank. Tell both you are going to the police about this.
And do that.
is the money still in your account?

If the friend IS a scammer, speaking to him might not be the OP'S best plan.

I’m glad you’ve been able to speak to one of the banks. I hope you can get it all sorted.

Please be aware that you sound like the sort of person who would be susceptible to scams because you are too trusting. Sadly, there are a lot of criminals that prey on this. As you agreed to do this in the first place, your details are likely now on a list of gullible people to de-fraud. I’m not saying this to kick you whilst you are down or be mean. I want you to know so you don’t fall victim again.

Top tips:

Never, ever click a link in an email or text message unless you specifically requested it (eg when you do a drs online consultation and they send you a link to complete that’s fine - when you get an out of the blue text from your bank, pause and think).

If the contact is flagged as “urgent” “act now” “your account is at risk” etc this is a red flag. Scammers use this sort of language to panic you into making unsafe choices that you normally wouldn’t do. If you get an email, phone call or text saying there’s an unexpected payment on your account, take a breath then check a few things. Did the email have your full name? Are there any spelling mistakes? Is the senders domain name actually your bank or is it slightly similar (eg does it say HBSC instead of HSBC)? Log into your online banking through your usual app or website, don’t use a link sent to you. Is there any sign of the transaction on there? Or, get your debit card out and call the fraud line phone number printed on it. If you’ve had the email etc and you’re worried, go onto online banking and temporarily freeze your bank card whilst you do your due diligence.

Ask yourself if a request is odd, even if you trust the person. In the case you described here, did you at any point think it was odd that someone you’d never met would TRUST a complete stranger to send them over a thousand pounds that they wouldn’t just keep that money but would forward it on, not just once but twice. Out of curiosity, did the instructions you followed ask you to wait a few hours to make the transfer out? I’m wondering why you waited otherwise. A request like that should also raise a red flag - if it were legitimate, why would you need to wait?

Is the communication unusual? So in this case, do you normally talk to your friend on the phone, or do you normally communicate via text/WhatsApp? If the latter, ask yourself why they would request something like this (especially with such specific instructions - wouldn’t sending them in writing make more sense so you didn’t get it wrong) in a way that is unusual? Could it be so there’s no written evidence that could be used against them?

If you’ve get an offer that sounds too good to be true - it probably is. I don’t know if you were offered to keep some of the money as a “thank you” for doing this (you haven’t said either way, which makes me think you might have been) - but something that offers quick and easy money is usually a scam.

Basically don’t trust anything or anyone. Always, always verify independently. If it’s genuine, the person or business will not mind. If they get funny with you - that’s a red flag too.

This sounds very dodgy. But its not a vast amount of money in the grand scheme of things. But good the bank has queried it.

I’m confused. Why haven’t you contacted your friend as soon as you thought this was weird? If you did, what did they say?

I just wouldn’t have accepted money from a friend of a friend, to be honest. Scam or not you don’t really know the origin.

I'm with you now, thank you. You mean the actual process of making a bank transfer, e.g. on a banking app.

Agree with all pps who believe your friend's voice and face have been cloned, and yes it sounds like you've been a victim of fraud and possible money laundering.

Others have given great advice, but mine would be JUST SAY NO next time. No favours, don't get involved, none of this "friend of a friend" nonsense. Honestly, I am a nice person but I got so sick of being taken advantage of that I just give blanket "no"s now. To everything. It's not that I don't want to help. It's that too much can go wrong.

I can’t believe that anyone is this naive! But of course they are - this is the reasons scammers continue to operate.

An individual expressing concern and suspicion about potential fraud wouldn't be classed as tipping off. It would only potentially be considered to be tipping off if they did something like passed on knowledge of a formal investigation or a disclosure that could actually interfere with law enforcement. It isn't just saying to a friend "Hey, this seems suspicious and my account has been blocked. Any idea what is going on?". That isn't tipping off.

Tipping off is more relevant to and usually only applied to employees of banks/financial organisations or other members of a regulated sector (lawyers, estate agents etc) notifying customers or clients about suspicions or formal investigations.

I think “Tipping off” is a specific offence for those working in regulated sectors like banks. Still the op should not have any further contact with this so called friend.

Sorry still laughing at the Moonpig confusion. 🤣
Your 'friend' is a total lowlife OP.

@cakeslenon6 Have you actually spoke to your friend??

@cakeslenon6 It may not even have been your friend who phoned you. Even if it sounded like him his voice could have been cloned by AI. In fact, I would wager it wasn't he who called you at all. Or if it was, he was also a victim of the actual scammers, following their instructions. Did your friend even know that you have a revolute card?Scams are becoming ever more sophisticated. Glad your bank stopped the transfer.

Have you spoken to your friend to confirm it was him or her who called you? It sounds like they have been impersonated.

That's correct. Tipping off is a specific offence but to protect herself the OP should have nothing more to do with this friend.

Speaking to the friend wouldn't be tipping off in the sense of it being an offence for a regulated person but I would advise against telling the friend that there's a problem if OP wants to maintain her own innocence and naivety. She should only be speaking to her bank.

Absolutely this

If the friend really is another innocent party he'll certainly mention it at some point in terms of "What the hell's happened here??", but on the offchance he's involved I really wouldn't be feeding him info so he can get a convincing story together

This is the job of the bank and/or police, so let them get on with it

I did speak to my friend which told me it wasn’t them but are they just saying that because they knew it was fraud or because they genuinely knew it wasn’t them I don’t know what to believe anymore

That's a shame in a way, but don't worry ... if he asks you anything else simply say you've not heard anything else from the bank yet, but you're sure they'll be in touch with him to "clarify" what happened

The good news is that the messages you had make it quite clear you've been a victim in this, so as I said before just leave them to handle it

Of course it wasn't them. That scam is as old as the hills, though the AI voice is new tech.

Thanks so much for this, I'll google cifas markers. I didn't know how to get past it, other than wait for years!

Much appreciated

I think the odds are overwhelming that it was them, if you are sure you'd recognise their voice - as PP have said, it might be technically possible to make an AI rendition of their voice, but there is nothing here that suggests anyone would go to that much effort. He could also be being duped, but him telling you he wasn't involved at all that also rules that out. I would entirely suspend your trust in them for now - and definitely don't do anything else they say!