‘Mum sent them £140,000’: How to spot the signs a loved one is being scammed

Unable to break her mum away from the scam, Helen turned to her bank.

She had a lasting power of attorney, meaning she could act on behalf of her mum and set up safeguards for her accounts.

Jim Winters, head of economic crime at Nationwide, says anyone who believes a family member is being scammed should contact their bank.

“They might be limited in what they can share with you for data privacy reasons, but they can take steps to safeguard that account,” he says.

“Once we know that a customer is being defrauded we can spot the hallmarks very quickly and take steps to break that spell.”

To date, the bank that Helen’s mum uses has returned £45,000 to her account.

Though Helen changed her mum’s phone number three times, she continued to give the new one to the scammers.

Helen eventually replaced her mum’s smartphone with one that could only do calls and texts.

Winters also advises “completely resetting” a loved ones digital footprint by changing telephone numbers, email address and social media accounts.

“That’s what makes you visible, that’s what puts you out there. So taking steps to reset all of that is so important,” he says.