BBC's Moira Stuart, 75, left 'devastated' by insidious scam as she issues warning

Moira Stuart has revealed her devastation after almost losing a 'fortune'.

The legendary BBC News broadcaster, 75, has said she risked losing a sum of money after she was targeted by fraudsters. Moira revealed that despite being "very aware" of the number of scams people face, she was one of the unfortunate individuals to be targeted. Initially, Moira was contacted by scammers who phoned her pretending to be her bank.

She admits she "didn't question" the call as her contact details are ex-directory. During the call, Moira was told by the scammers that a member of staff at the bank had removed money from her account, which they claimed was an "inside job". The scammers had told Moira they wanted her to transfer money to discover whether the alleged insider would intercept it. Moira revealed that the scammer told her what to say to staff at the bank she attended in person.

This, however, sparked concern for Moira who headed into her local bank to discuss what happened. The cashier instantly recognised the red flag and transferred Moira to the anti-fraud team who thankfully stopped the scam from going any further. "This gorgeous young man questioned what I was doing and said, 'Can you wait a moment please, madam?'," she commented.

"There is so much shame and embarrassment attached to this sort of thing," Moira told The Times. She went on to add: "I was absolutely devastated, embarrassed and angry with myself. If you're very independent, as I am, it feels like you have let yourself down, your family, and everyone who knows you. This feeling, this intrusion, it doesn't leave you."

She added that the topic needs to be spoken about more so "people are aware" of the lengths some fraudsters go to. Appearing on ITV's Lorraine, Moira said: "I was at home, between 8 and 8.30ish and I got a call and I'm ex-directory so it must be absolutely fine.

"By and large, it was a scammer purporting to be from my bank saying 'There's been suspicious activity, we can actually catch this person red-handed. It seems to be that this activity is happening in your local branch so we want you to go to another branch and check it out.'

"I had a mobile phone, they asked me for my number and said 'Look, I'm going to stay with you and tell you what to tell the bank staff and we're going to remove money from your account and track it and investigate it to see exactly who is doing what so they could be arrested'."

Moira added: "I went along to this branch and this amazing young man said 'Oh erm, Madam do you mind waiting for a moment,' and that moment went on for quite some time, feeling a bit miffed. The long and short of it, he said 'I think something isn't right here,' I was astounded."

In the UK alone, there were almost three million cases of bank fraud last year. The sum of £1.2 billion was recorded as being lost, totalling around £400 for each victim. More than 230,000 people had been victims of so-called authorised fraud, which saw them tricked into sending money to the scammer, with an average of almost £2,000 being lost. Moira has teamed up with BT Group and AbilityNet to urge people to enhance their digital skills in order to avoid scammers.

Moira, one of the most high-profile broadcasters, made history as she became the first newsreader of Caribbean heritage to appear on British national TV.

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