Amy Hart has revealed she fell victim to a nightmare phone scamming hoax which wiped £5,000 from her bank account in just minutes. The former Love Island star, 31, appeared on Good Morning Britain on Thursday alongside cyber security expert Jake Moore and hosts Kate Garraway and Richard Madeley to recall what happened.
She explained that she was sitting in the garden when she received a phone call she chose not to answer and instead googled it to see who it was. After it came up as her bank’s fraud line and they called her back a second time, she assumed it was safe to answer.
The reality star explained: ‘They must time it because it was literally within the time I went onto the search engine and typed it in, they phoned me back. I answered it but it was actually number spoofing so a scammer had managed to spoof the number so it is the right number but it’s a different line.’
She continued: ‘They knew lots of details about me and that’s the thing with scammers they always pose as very reputable companies. They said there had been fraudulent activity on my account. I went onto my internet banking and checked and said there’s not anything on there and they said no it’s because we’ve stopped it.’
They used ‘pressure tactics’ and prompted her to type a text message reading ‘YES’ by reading out her recent transactions, one of which she had actually made.
Amy explained that her husband Sam Rason decided to call up the bank to see if they were in fact on the phone to Amy, to which they confirmed they were not.
The former Islander checked her bank account only to realise she had lost £5,000 within minutes. Although she got her money back in the end, Amy is now warning others about the tactics scammers are using.
The candid interview came as part of O2’s newest campaign to fight back against scammers, which includes an on-call AI granny called Daisy, who was created to waste fraudster’s time.
The tool combines various AI models which work together to first listen to the caller and transcribe their voice into text. Appropriate responses are then generated through a custom large language model complete with a character ‘personality’ layer, and then fed back through a custom AI text-to-speech model to generate a voice answer. This takes place in real time, allowing the tool to hold a human-like conversation with a caller.
Amy added: ‘It’s scary to see the lengths scammers go to steal everything from passwords to bank details regardless of who they’re speaking to. Whether your young or old, anyone can be a victim of a scam that’s why we can never be too careful when it comes to unexpected calls or texts. If you have even the tiniest doubt about who you’re speaking to, the best thing to do is to hang up the phone and call back on a trusted number.’
Amy also revealed that she had to navigate some tricky steps in her floor-length dress and high heels during her wedding ceremony, which took place in September. She shared stunning snaps of her dramatic wedding dress, which turned heads at the ceremony.
Amy, who has not shared much of her special day while on her honeymoon, appeared to be in wedded bliss as she beamed a huge smile in her V-neck gown. Her lace, long-sleeved garment turned heads at the ceremony as the dramatic train and veil trailing behind Amy as she walked down the aisle.
Amy shot to fame on Love Island in 2019, where she was coupled up with Curtis Pritchard. She welcomed her only child, Stanley, with Sam Rason in March 2023.
Conclusion:
Amy’s story serves as a stark reminder of the importance of being vigilant when it comes to unexpected calls or texts. Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and it’s crucial that we take steps to protect ourselves from their tactics. By being aware of the warning signs and taking action quickly, we can minimize the risk of falling victim to a scam.
FAQs:
Q: What was the scam that Amy Hart fell victim to?
A: Amy Hart fell victim to a phone scamming hoax that wiped £5,000 from her bank account in just minutes.
Q: What tactics did the scammers use?
A: The scammers used number spoofing and pressure tactics to prompt Amy to type a text message reading ‘YES’ by reading out her recent transactions.
Q: How did Amy get her money back?
A: Amy got her money back after her husband Sam Rason called up the bank to verify their identity.
Q: What is O2’s newest campaign to fight back against scammers?
A: O2’s newest campaign includes an on-call AI granny called Daisy, who was created to waste fraudster’s time.
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