[Closed] Vishing scam

I can't see that there is any particular requirement to understand how banks work on that level to do the job she did

Yeah, I mean.. What's the worst that could happen.

Ah, righto. I see.

- she just put money in and took it out.

That's where the problems were. She gave all the money away to a complete stranger because another complete stranger told her to.

It's professional incompetence plain and simple.

She gave all the money away to a complete stranger because another complete stranger told her to.

Just like most people do when they buy a house.

Just like most people do when they buy a house.

I transferred my money to the account of a competent Solicitor, who I had employed to deal with the transaction safely.

Not sure how you are suggesting everyone else does it 😕

I transferred my money to the account of a competent Solicitor, who I had employed to deal with the transaction safely

We've already established that you are practically perfect in every way, but most of us have no real way of assessing the competence of the solicitor, and still less do we have the means to verify every instruction that arrives from then, or appears to come from them. My point is that banks, solicitors etc have a degree of trust that may indeed not be warranted.

I transferred my money to the account of a competent Solicitor, who I had employed to deal with the transaction safely.

Exactly what she thought she was doing with the banks, no?

It's very easy to be on the outside looking in and go "how could she possibly have fallen for it?" but the fact remains that she did. People do. It's as much about the sophistication of the trick as the gullibility of the mark.

Scams like this are designed to trigger emotions - fear or greed are common - and when people are reacting emotionally they're not always making good decisions. It's very, very easy to make a stupid mistake in a blind panic; and even if she'd thought it was fishy, she'd believed she'd rung her own bank and (as ridiculous as the original premise may have sounded) they'd verified the story.

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have fallen for it, partly because I know about the phone trick but mostly because I'm generally sceptical of what people tell me and am distrustful of cold-callers. But many people will readily believe any old toot, as a cursory glance at 'shares' on Facebook will demonstrate.

I transferred my money to the account of a competent Solicitor, who I had employed to deal with the transaction safely.

Exactly what she thought she was doing with the banks, no?

Not the same at all no.

I had a professional relationship with my Solicitor, and the transfer was arranged in advance, the account name and details were in hand, given to me by my Solicitor in his office.

What she did was hardly even similar, and certainly not exactly the same.