Denise Welch has revealed she felt ‘ridiculous’ after fraudsters stole £2,000 from her bank after catching her out in a cruel trick.
The Loose Women star, 66, spoke on Good Morning Britain on Monday about being scammed over the phone and urged ITV viewers not to make the same mistake.
The TV star revealed she lost thousands of dollars when she picked up the phone convinced she was speaking to Barclays’ fraud team – but it was actually an imposter.
Speaking to presenters Ranvir Singh and Ed Balls, Denise revealed she was busy at the time she received the phone call and saw the caller ID said Barclays and believed it was legitimate and wanted to resolve the issue quickly.
She remembered: ‘It was a few years ago, before the pandemic, and I was rehearsing a show, Calendar Girls: The Musical. We weren’t supposed to look at our phones or take personal phone calls. We all looked sideways and there was a call from Barclays.
Denise Welch revealed she feels ‘ridiculous’ after fraudsters stole £2,000 from her bank after she made a huge mistake; she appeared on Good Morning Britain on Monday
The Loose Women star, 66, has spoken out about being scammed over a phone call and urged ITV viewers not to make the same mistake.
‘I went outside, answered the phone call and was told it was the fraud squad. They said there was fraudulent activity going on with my card and we wanted to put a stop to it.
‘I had no doubt I was speaking to my bank’s fraud department because it had appeared under the Barclays headline I had put on my phone.’
Revealing how the man tricked her, she admitted that it wasn’t until the fifth call that she made the big mistake.
She explained: ‘I was talking to a guy called Michael. I remember him, he was obviously very nice. And I went over to him, in a series of four phone calls, all the information that he’s expected to give.
‘It was my full name, my date of birth, my address and postcode and my mother’s maiden name – again, I didn’t hesitate because it said Barclays.
‘So after about four phone calls, Michael became my best friend and told me that it was taking too long to do this because this was a scam that was potentially going to be bigger than they thought.
“This is where anyone watching this is going to scream, well, that’s your fault. How stupid of you.” Then they said, on the fifth phone call, we’re going to have to ask you for your four-digit PIN.
“Now, I know you’re not supposed to give out your PIN, but I was speaking to Barclays’ fraud department so I did. And the next day I mentioned it to my husband, who went ballistic.”
The TV star revealed she lost thousands of dollars when she picked up the phone convinced she was speaking to Barclays’ fraud team – but it was actually an imposter.
She revealed: “They had cloned my credit card and before we knew it they had taken over £2,000 out of my account. I felt ridiculous about it.”
She revealed: ‘They had cloned my credit card and by the time we discovered it, they had already taken over £2,000 out of my account.
“If I had been at home and this had happened, maybe it wouldn’t have happened, but since I was at work, all I wanted to do was fix it. I felt ridiculous about it.”
When asked for her advice, Denise said: ‘In my opinion, don’t give your information to anyone unless you can be 100% sure.
“Call them back. Anyone who calls you, even if you’ve talked to them before, say, ‘Do you know something? ‘ ‘You called me.
According to EE, research has shown that 40% of crimes committed in the UK are fraud-based and almost all phone users are affected by nuisance calls on a regular basis.
The phone network revealed that it blocks around fifteen million suspicious calls and text messages before they can reach their intended victim.
The US has blocked more than 84 million scam attempts in the first six months of 2024, twice as many as in the comparable period in 2023.
This comes after Denise confirmed her son Matt Healey’s engagement to model Gabbriette Bechtel following a whirlwind romance.
Denise, who met Gabbriette five months into their romance, said: “We couldn’t be happier. She is everything I would want in a daughter-in-law.”
This comes after Denise confirmed her son Matt Healey (right) is engaged to model Gabbriette Bechtel (left) following a whirlwind romance.
He explained that the couple had communicated the news to their loved ones “a few weeks ago.”
“I’ve known for a few weeks that Matty got engaged,” she told her co-stars. “They went to see their friends Charli and George in New York.”
“I woke up this morning and saw that it had been posted on Instagram. Instagram is official: he’s engaged to Gabbriette. She’s from LA, she’s absolutely gorgeous,” before adding bizarrely: “He has a rat.”
The proud mum revealed that Matty had the distinctive ring custom made, gushing: “It’s a black diamond, he had it made for her and I couldn’t be more thrilled.”
Gabbriette hinted strongly that she will be “tying the knot” with the 1975 singer in June, following their whirlwind nine-month romance.
The singer and model, 26, sparked engagement rumours after posting a photo on Instagram of herself sporting a £10,000 black diamond ring on her ring finger.
Adding to the speculation, Gabbriette tagged Matty’s social media account and wrote: ‘MARRYING THE 1975 IS SO CRAPPY @trumanblack’