BBC presenter gets money back after being scammed

A BBC Look North presenter says he has got his money back after being scammed out of almost half of his life savings.

Peter Levy, 68, fell victim to the fraud in February, after receiving a call from someone pretending to be from his bank claiming there had been some suspicious activity on his account.

The caller asked him to log into his account to make some "security checks".

Mr Levy said he felt "ashamed and embarrassed" for trusting the caller but added that scammers are "great actors".

Mr Levy revealed details of the scam to presenter Richard Stead on BBC Radio Humberside and BBC Radio Lincolnshire.

He said he received a call at about 19:20 BST one evening in February from someone asking if he had spent £500 in the last hour.

Mr Levy replied he had not, and, in fact, had been at work.

The scammer then asked him to log into his account.

Mr Levy said: "Of course I logged onto the account and, of course, it wasn't the fraud department or bank at all, it was a fraudster."

The money has now been returned to Mr Levy after he went straight to his bank when he realised what had happened.

He said the two banks that helped him get the money back were "very helpful" and "know exactly how these things are done".

Mr Levy said the scam made him feel "ashamed and embarrassed" and made him think "how could I be so stupid?"

He said: "You feel terrible. I didn’t sleep at all for two nights and after that, for a fortnight, it was very hard.

"It's that you have trusted someone on the phone, you thought they were the right person and they were not.

"These people are great actors."

Mr Levy said: "I've talked about this on the air, I've listened and done interviews and I fell for it badly.

"Awful thing to say but we shouldn’t trust people when they call. Always say 'I'll ring you back' and go to the number on your bank card and call that.

"Always be wary and no one will be offended if you say you will call them back."

The Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign is urging people to:

• Stop: Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe

• Challenge: Could it be fake? It is OK to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you

• Protect: Contact your bank immediately if you think you've fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud

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