Hull fraudster helped steal £70,000 from woman in text message scam

A woman was left "bereft" after losing nearly £70,000 of lifesavings to fraudsters who made her believe her bank account was being raided, a court heard.

The woman was duped after clicking on a bogus Post Office link in a text message in May 2022 telling her she needed to pay a £1.20 fee for a postal delivery.

After receiving a phone call warning her that an attempt had been made to take £1,200 from her bank account, she followed an instruction to transfer nearly £20,000 into what she thought was a safe account, Hull Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Samantha Laws said: "She also transferred other large sums of money."

The woman's total losses amounted to £69,566.

In a statement, the woman said the mental toll had been "horrific".

"I could not believe how stupid I have been," she said. "It was a constant noise in the back of my head. I really struggled. There has not been a single day in the last two years where I have not thought about it. It was my nest egg that I had built for the future.

"I felt bereft. It had really knocked my confidence in myself. All my savings that I had worked hard for had been taken. I did not know what to do."

Another woman also fell victim to the scam, the court heard.

Dan Gheorghe, 23, of Edgecumbe Street, west Hull, admitted two offences of transferring criminal property.

Judge Mark Bury said he was involved in "money laundering" by using bank accounts to falsely obtain people's money, but he did not substantially benefit.

"Other people were operating a scam designed to trick money from law-abiding people who have saved it up," Judge Bury said.

"That money ended up in bank accounts which you opened. Your basis of plea, accepted by the prosecution, was to the effect that this was your total involvement in this.

"You didn't make either any or, at least, very much out of it. Had you been involved in the enterprise that caused so much heartache, you would have been going to prison."

Gheorghe was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and 200 hours' unpaid work.

He told the court: "I don't want this any more."

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