Kent woman scammed out of £127k by fake Goldman Sachs employee

A woman was conned out of more than £120,000 by a fraudster who posed as a Goldman Sachs employee.

Gillian Pendrigh, from Headcorn, Kent, said "there are no words" to describe how it felt when she realised she had been scammed.

She has warned others to be cautious with transactions, urging: "Just be so careful and check everything."

Her bank, HSBC, has reimbursed the money after initially declining to do so.

Ms Pendrigh saw an advertisement on Facebook claiming to offer a government backed fixed interest rate bond. She was then contacted by someone posing as a banker at Goldman Sachs.

The fraudster used the name of a genuine Goldman Sachs employee, whose name was listed on the firm's website.

They established a professional relationship and Ms Pendrigh was led to believe she was making legitimate investments which involved making transactions of £20,000.

"There was nothing ever to make me question that I was talking to the right people," she said.

Ms Pendrigh had transferred almost £127,000 when she realised it was a scam. She said she could "hardly stand and hardly speak."

"There are no words to describe it," she added.

Her bank, HSBC, initially declined to refund Ms Pendrigh arguing that they provided multiple online warnings and that she did not provide them with accurate answers about the purpose of the payments.

Ms Pendrigh said the fraudster pre-empted her with answers when the bank checked for fraudulent activity.

Her son-in-law David Green, from Hildenborough, added: "The scammers were so clever with their ability to understand the system."

A HSBC spokesperson the total amount was refunded after the case was reviewed.

Kent and Bedfordshire police are investigating the case, but no arrests have been made.

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