Brit living in Spain warns of online scam after ‘nearly losing thousands’

A EURO WEEKLY NEWS reader who almost got his fingers burnt has contacted us to share his story to alert others to an online scam that almost sucked him in.

Trevor Whitehouse said: “I feel that I have a duty of care to enlighten your readers to my near miss, this is despite my embarrassment in regards to a sophisticated scam were I was so close to losing €1,000 and a further £1,000 minutes later.

“I’ve been around computer’s for around 30 years and I never – ever thought that they’d get me, thank god I used an anonymous and random password.

Trevor explained: “I received an email from a friend, which we in the trade refer to as a ‘known source’ Having followed a link, I briefly read the revelations made by Jim Davidson on GMTV in regards to an App that buys and sells Bitcoins and repays huge divings in such a short period. OK both ‘never look a gift horse’, and ‘too good to be true’, spring to mind and trust me it is inscribed in my DNA.

He said: “Having told my wife, she nagged me all day to try it. We were hooked, line and sinker. I used my Spanish Santander Account and sent €1,000, fortunately, this was blocked because by my card was not authorised for telephone transactions. Instead of ringing to confirm and clear the sale I picked up my black card and thought that I’d give them £1,000 instead of Euros, this too was blocked, but this time by the NatWest, I was given a number to ring in England, which I did.

“In the conversation I explained what it was that I was buying and they authorised the transaction, their instructions were to re-apply and, in doing so, the operation will pass unhindered. While organising the authorisation and changing a few personal details, I explained how good the deal was, I mentioned Jim (bless him) and GMTV breakfast etc. and then sent him the link. Phew! Within seconds the fraud squad was alerted,  I was warned that it was a scam and that I’d escaped with no loss.

“Meanwhile, I received an email from GMO Trading, and again within minutes, I received a phone call from a well-spoken Spaniard on 951121848, who was offering to help me make the deposit. I of course refused and enlightened him that this was a scam, and in turn, he got very abusive quoting the law and that he was acting legally and lawfully. Which to be precise their not, they are in serious breach of GDPR and data protection whereas it should be just as easy to remove your data as it is to offer it,” he explained.

Tony said: “My only pitfalls are that I’ve offered my email address and my Spanish mobile number. That I must wait several days for a new card from NatWest, and that my Santander card is switched off and it is weekend, Perhaps I should this spare time reading a book on internet scams.”