Woman has life savings emptied from bank account by fake new card reader scam sent through the post

A grandma has been left devastated after her entire bank account was emptied by a new card reader scam.
The elderly woman had her life savings taken, including savings for her granddaughters, by what the woman was led to believe was a helpful service.

The scam, which apparently seems genuine, involves being sent a fake card reader machine.
According to the Manchester Evening News , the elderly woman was sent the supposed Royal Bank of Scotland device, which is used for online banking, but decided she didn’t need it.
The heartless thieves managed to obtain her phone number and called her about activating it.
When she told them she didn’t want it, they offered to cancel it for her.

The grandma hadn't even wanted a new card reader (Image: Facebook)

The grandma's official looking letter (Image: Facebook)

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Patricia Barry from Greater Manchester, who knows the victim, said a man asked the elderly woman to insert the card and reveal her full card details over the telephone - something the RBS has now warned customers should never do.
A day later she went into the bank and discovered all of her money had been stolen.

The woman was sent a letter with the card reader which appeared official (Image: Facebook)

In a Facebook post , which has been shared more than 50,000 times, Patricia wrote: “URGENT!! Can I just make my friends and family aware of something I have dealt with today?
“One of my ladies received this digital card reader in the post two weeks ago from The Royal Bank of Scotland with the enclosed letter.
"She left it to one side as being elderly she wasn’t interested in it.
“Two days ago she had a phone call from the bank asking if she received it. She said she had but was taking it back to the bank as she didn’t want it, the ‘very nice man’ told her she didn’t have to do that he can cancel it for her and told her to put her card and number in to do this."

RBS say they will never call and ask for card reader codes (Image: Facebook)

The post continued: “The next day she went to the bank for a statement and yes you can guess so every penny had been took out of her account including savings for her granddaughters.
“She was devastated and the worst of it is SHE felt foolish and ashamed. I reassured her these scammers are very good at it. Luckily she got her money back but apparently this is a new digital system coming out now so please make your contacts aware of this as it looks very genuine.”

A spokeswoman for The Royal Bank of Scotland, in response to the viral Facebook message, said the bank will never call and ask for card reader codes and if this happens, to end the call immediately.
She said: “The Royal Bank of Scotland uses a digital banking card reader to authorise transactions leaving your account via your digital banking.

"If you get a phone call saying it’s your bank, the police, or another company you trust and they ask for card reader codes, end the call immediately.
“Your bank will never ask for third party reader codes over the phone and you should not disclose these to any third party under any circumstances.
“If you receive a card reader in the post that you’ve not requested, report it to us immediately.”