6 days ago I was a victim of a very sophisticated APP fraud. I am absolutely devastated. I am normally super careful and I can spot these scams a mile off, not this time, gutted. I now know Monzo never call you out the blue. And they send a message in the app if they are going to call. So if you receive a call from someone saying they are from the ‘Monzo Business Fraud Team’ put the phone down.
The man who called me said he was from the ‘Monzo Business Fraud Team’ They sent me authentication codes via text message using the Monzo phone number. They did all the normal security checks. They had all my personal information, phone number, email, the last four digits of my bank card & they knew stuff about a previous company I set seven years ago. This guy was so convincing & panicked me into thinking someone had hacked into my iphone, which had compromised my business account. He said someone had logged into my account and was trying to make transactions up to £3k and they had blocked the transactions but we had to act quick to set up a new Monzo business account to transfer my money into.
Also, a week before the incident my iPhone automatically called someone. I spoke to the person and I apologised then put the phone down. The fraudster asked if I had noticed any suspicious activity and I mentioned the phone call a week before, this lead him to say my phone had certainly been hacked and that’s how the fraudsters had gained access to my Monzo account. Im pretty sure this phone call is linked somehow to the scam.
This kind of situation is mentally demoralising and even more so due to the amount I have potentially lost. I hope and pray I acted quick enough to stop the money moving any further and Monzo can help recover the transaction.
The Monzo team have messaged to say the specialist team is looking into my case and it can take from 15 to 35 days to investigate. I’m currently on day 6.
Please be careful, remember Monzo never call you out the blue. They will send you a message via the in-app chat to let you know they plan to call.
Sorry to hear you’ve been the victim here. These things are scary and massively demoralising, and anyone (even if they won’t admit to it) could fall for these things. I guess all you can do is let the monzo team investigate and hopefully things will work out.
As a general rule, even if it is the bank that calls, I always say I’ll call them back. Hard times.
Its one of those situations I thought I’d never fall for. The guy was the nicest person to speak to over the phone and he gained my trust and totally manipulated me. I even called him out throughout the call asking him how do I know your not a fraudster, he had a clever answer for everything. I have so many what If’s going through my mind 24/7. Your general rule is a great one! I will struggle to speak to any bank over the phone now.
Sorry to hear this Sean. As has already been said the scammers are getting so sophisticated now even the most alert, savvy, careful, wary & scam aware folk are getting hooked.
Thank you for being so honest and open about this, and for the [always, unfortunately] timely reminder to us all to be vigilant.
It’s a difficult one, I can’t say it will always work of course. But on the occasions I’ve had it the caller is always polite and has no issues with that. If they did, it might be a red flag.
Yes, there are a few things Im looking back on and thinking the bank would know that or the bank could do that. You live and learn and after going through this, Im well equipped with the knowledge if I ever get the call again. And I hope anyone reading this thread would have this knowledge if they ever get a similar call.
I must say, this tone is superb. Sometimes people come on here all “I WaS sCaMmEd,MoNzo ArE tHieVeZ” and complain they don’t have the money back after 2 hours.
To come here, share what must be a difficult story (which I hope you get resolved by the way) and be really patient is impressive.
Another update, the Monzo fraud prevention team have messaged through the chat again asking for answers to more questions.
I have noticed throughout the whole customer service, there seems to be a lack of compassion regarding my situation. Every response seems to be a standard copy and paste.
This situation is mentally draining, not only the scam experience, but the waiting…sigh . I know I just need to sit tight.
That would be some good feedback for them once your issue has been solved! They’ll probably ask if you want to leave any feedback/do a survey at the end, worth doing!
Most likely it is a semi-automated system (people that work in this side of the industry may know for sure), I expect there’s strict processes and procedures they have to follow and they need to prioritise following the steps over making it too personal. That would be my guess anyway. I hope you have a positive resolution to the situation soon!
Like a message board with replies prepped on, would make sense since you often don’t deal with just one agent so a message board keeps the continuity between reps.
for you. R-
. I know I just need to sit tight.