This Morning star devastated after being scammed for £19k as he reveals ‘lowest point’ of being tricked
THIS Morning star Matthew Wright has been left devastated after being scammed for £19k this week.
Matthew, 59, bravely opened up about the terrifying moment he realised he’d been conned, admitting it was the “lowest point” of his life.
The presenter told LBC listeners how the fraudsters had impersonated courier company Evri, telling him he’d missed his laptop delivery in an email.
He explained how the scam had taken place not long after he’d moved house, meaning he had been receiving an influx of packages.
In the email, scammers asked him to click on a link to rearrange the delivery – which he innocently proceeded to do.
It was then that Matthew was asked to provide his credit card details for a £2.50 payment.
Telling fans how he’d been busy in Tesco at the time, he said: “I thought no more of it. Next day the laptop turned up. It wasn’t delivered by Evri.
“Later in that day, I got a message from American Express asking if I’d clicked on a link for an Evri scam, I said. ‘Yeah I had.'”
Matthew spent the next hour on the phone with someone claiming to be from his credit card company “going through the details of the scam and discussing charges on my account”.
He said: “This incredibly helpful man also said he was notifying my bank to let them know about it. At the end of this very long conversation he hung up and said. ‘You’ll probably hear from the bank next,’
“I hung up the phone and, within about ten seconds, it was my bank listing all these dodgy transactions on my accounts, saying I had to change all my logins, my password.
“And then, of course, I then told them what my login and password were so they could be changed. And I still hadn’t twigged.
“And then I hung up and then I got another call from my bank and I said, ‘Oh it’s funny, I’ve just been talking to your colleagues,’ and they said, ‘Oh really?’
“And I hadn’t been talking to their colleagues, I’d been talking to scammers. Scam American Express, scam bank.”
While the former I’m A Celebrity campmate managed to get most of the transactions cancelled, a £19,000 one couldn’t be retrieved.
He said: “American Express were absolutely amazing. My new card arrived days earlier than expected, all transactions cancelled, all the dodgy transactions cancelled, incredibly reassuring, very polite. First class all the way.
“My bank, on the day of the fraud, when I actually spoke to them, said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll look after you.’
“Yesterday, I looked back and saw that every transaction that they read back to me, all but one had been stopped, one of them, for £19,000 appeared to have been allowed to go through, a standing order.”
Matthew added: “I’d been asking my bank for the last 48 hours if and when I’m going to get my money back, and so far they’re refusing to tell me, which I can tell you is doing my head in.”
The Wright Stuff star also divulged the sleepless nights and immense stress he’s suffered as a result.
How to protect yourself from scams
BY keeping these tips in mind, you can avoid getting caught up in a scam:
- Firstly, remember that if something seems too good to be true, it normally is.
- Check brands are “verified” on Facebook and Twitter pages – this means the company will have a blue tick on its profile.
- Look for grammatical and spelling errors; fraudsters are notoriously bad at writing proper English. If you receive a message from a “friend” informing you of a freebie, consider whether it’s written in your friend’s normal style.
- If you’re invited to click on a URL, hover over the link to see the address it will take you to – does it look genuine?
- To be on the really safe side, don’t click on unsolicited links in messages, even if they appear to come from a trusted contact.
- Be careful when opening email attachments too. Fraudsters are increasingly attaching files, usually PDFs or spreadsheets, which contain dangerous malware.
- If you receive a suspicious message then report it to the company, block the sender and delete it.
- If you think you’ve fallen for a scam, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use its online fraud reporting tool.
He continued: “This is the second time I’ve fallen prey to the scammers, and once again I find myself kept awake at night worrying and fretting.”
Matthew spoke out about his experience, hoping to warn others about the increasing sophistication of online scams.
He believes his vulnerability to the scam was heightened due to his neck condition, which requires heavy medication.
Only last month, Matthew took to social media to reveal his pain was “off the scale” as he was rushed to A&E.
Posting on X, Matthew told concerned fans: “Back in hospital, another ambulance, pain off the scale. Scans and stuff next.”
It was Matthew’s second trip to hospital in 48 hours.
The day before, he’d told his followers that he was rushed in by paramedics on the day he was due to move house.
Matthew, who earlier had shared a snap of himself surrounded by moving boxes, wrote: “Turns out my bad neck is actually quite bad. Indebted to paramedics Steph and Miko for getting me to hospital and dealing with worst of pain.
“Doesn’t look like I’ll be moving house today”
He later joked that he was enjoying his pain relief, laughing: “Two shots of morphine so far, one diazepam, 1000mg paracetemol and it’s not even 7am #BreakfastOfChampions”.
