The Emmerdale actress said she fell victim to a convincing website while trying to get a travel permit
Lisa Riley has fallen victim to a scam(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Emmerdale star Lisa Riley has warned scams can happen to anyone after she was tricked into giving personal information.
She said she fell victim to a convincing website while trying to get a travel permit.
Her warning comes as research from Nationwide found 15% of adults surveyed had given data to someone before realising they were a criminal.
Respondents reported receiving more than three suspicious phone calls a week on average, as well as around two suspicious texts. Nearly one in five, 19%, said they would call back an unknown number, said the poll by Censuswide.
Lisa, 50, said: “Being scammed is sadly something I have experienced.
“I provided personal information to what I believed was a genuine travel permit website.
“I’d completed the process many times before, so there was nothing that immediately raised alarm bells.
“That’s what frightened me most. The website looked completely legitimate and I genuinely believed I was doing the right thing.
“Once fraudsters have your personal information, it can be used in all sorts of ways and that’s a frightening thought.” The actress, who plays Emmerdale ’s Mandy Dingle, said the con had made her more cautious about unexpected contact online, by text, email or phone.
She added: “It has had a real impact on me and changed the way I behave online. I think people sometimes believe scams only happen to other people, but they can happen to anyone.”
The research found more than a quarter had received a text claiming to be from their bank during the previous 12 months.
A further quarter had received an email making the same claim, while 22% had a phone call.
Nationwide’s own data showed the average loss from impersonation scams was nearly £2,200. Annya Burskys, head of fraud operations at Nationwide, said: “Scammers are increasingly sophisticated at making unexpected calls, texts and emails appear genuine.”
Nationwide says financial providers will never ask customers to move money to a so-called “safe account”, tell them to misrepresent a payment to their bank or ask for a one-time passcode.
They will also never ask customers to download an app or give someone access to their computer or app, or pressure them into acting quickly.
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