London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 30, 2026

Royal Mail scam: Fake text led to drama student being defrauded

Royal Mail scam: Fake text led to drama student being defrauded

A woman who has been "scammed out of every penny I had" has shared her story on Twitter to try to stop others falling victim to bank fraudsters.

Drama student Emmeline Hartley moved £1,000 out of her account after a man claiming to be from Barclays called.

The number appeared to be genuine, but it was a spoof. The 28-year-old's bank has now agreed to fully reimburse her.

Her story has been retweeted thousands of times and others have shared their experiences in response to her post.

"I am usually very good at not falling for scams but this one caught me off-guard at a pretty vulnerable time in my life," the Birmingham student said.

"I thought I had done my due diligence but it was not enough."


On Friday, Ms Hartley said she had been taken in by a text message scam which claimed she owed payment to Royal Mail for a package to be delivered.

As her birthday was coming up and she was in a hurry, she said she had thought nothing of it and entered her bank details.

The following day, a man called her and told her someone had tried to set up direct debits in her account to other firms.

The con-artist told her she needed a new bank account as entering her details to the text had put her online banking at risk.

He persuaded her to transfer the £1,000 - all her savings - to the new account and Ms Hartley said she had only fully realised she was being scammed when he had asked her to transfer her overdraft.

When it did not work, she said she had broken down in tears and he had hung up.

"It was down to circumstances, I was panicked and angry at falling for the Royal Mail scam and I have always trusted Barclays," she said.

"This guy was plausible, professional and understanding and I just fell for it."

Ms Hartley said Barclays had started an investigation into what had happened but she felt the bank's online app could have more warnings to try to stop such a scam.

She said her bank had called her on Tuesday and told her they would be reimbursing her in full.

A spokesperson for Barclays said: "No genuine bank would message you to transfer money to a 'safe account' - we advise any customers to ignore anyone who asks to do this, whether it's by phone, email or any other method."

Since sharing her story on Twitter on Sunday, hundreds of people have commented, with many sharing their own stories of similar bank scams.

People have offered her donations which Ms Hartley said she had refused, but she has seen scammers copying her account to try to get money out of users who have commented.

* To report scams, contact Action Fraud, or Police Scotland

* To report email scams, contact the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) by emailing report@phishing.gov.uk

* For consumer advice, please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×