Tech expert loses £70,000 in phone scam, warns about social media details
6 reported
A tech reviewer known as "The Tech Chap" on YouTube lost £70,000 after falling for a phone scam while on a work trip to Tokyo. Tom Honeyands, who has 1.63 million subscribers, received a call from someone claiming to be from Lloyds bank asking about a transaction in Singapore. The scammer said his account had been compromised and security details needed to be reset. Honeyands believes the scammers stitched together a profile based on his YouTube videos, including seeing banking icons on his computer home screen. He made 12 verifications over a few hours, which allowed the criminals to make payments totalling £70,000. The scam ended when Lloyds' real security team called him and advised him to hang up and call back on the number on the back of his bank card.
What’s reported
Tom Honeyands lost £70,000 in a phone scam while on a work trip to Tokyo.
The caller claimed to be from Lloyds bank and asked about a transaction in Singapore.
Honeyands has 1.63 million subscribers to his "The Tech Chap" YouTube channel.
He believes scammers used details from his videos, including banking icons on his computer home screen.
He made 12 verifications over a few hours, enabling payments totalling £70,000.
The real Lloyds security team called him and told him to hang up and call back on the number on his bank card.
Key figures
Tom Honeyands, tech reviewer and YouTube creator ("The Tech Chap")
Sources: The Guardian
