Support floods in for Bog Dog Running in Stamford following Revolut bank fraud

A community is rallying to help a small business after its owner was scammed out of £30,000.

Pretending to work for the financial firm Revolut, a criminal rang Laura Bailey while she was at work at Bog Dog Running shop in Ryhall Road, Stamford.

They said they needed Laura to act quickly to prevent a major fraud on the business account, and by making Revolut’s phone number display on Laura’s phone screen - a technique called ‘spoofing’ - made the call seem legitimate.

The scammer directed Laura to download a piece of software to ‘protect’ her account, which they used to drain the balance into an HSBC account.

Laura feels ‘emotionally devastated’ by the scam, which stole money for purchasing stock and paying the wages of her four staff.

But Bog Dog’s manager, Josie Player, along with mutual friend Chris Gold, swung into action to set up a fundraising page to support the business.

Josie said: “The scammer struck at a time when Laura was busy in the shop as well as preparing for the Grim Reaper running event at Grimsthorpe Castle that she organises. She’s also in the process of moving Bog Dog from Ryhall Road to a new location in the town centre.

“Although she was suspicious about the call, they had used Revolut’s phone number and told her to look it up online - it checked out.”

Laura contacted the police, Revolut and HSBC immediately, but hopes of getting the money back appear slim.

Revolut, which was set up in 2015, does not have a UK banking licence and is not signed up to the contingent reimbursement model code (CRM code), a voluntary code that outlines when defrauded customers should get back their money.

A lawyer has offered their expertise for free to help Laura and her colleagues appeal against Revolut’s decision not to refund the stolen money.

They have a recording of the scammer’s call and say the criminal had information about the account which makes them question the effectiveness of Revolut’s security measures.

If the company still refuses to reimburse the money, they will take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which settles complaints between consumers and financial service providers.

According to a report in The Guardian newspaper, the number of complaints to Action Fraud by Revolut customers rose from 567 in February 2023 to 1,086 for February 2024.

A spokesperson for Revolut said they were ‘sorry’ to hear of Laura’s case and called the criminal ‘ruthless and sophisticated’.

“Each potential fraud case concerning a Revolut customer is carefully investigated and assessed independently of other cases,” they added.

Revolut says it warns customers about fraud and advises them not to download remote access applications, or share codes and passwords.

Revolut also says it doesn’t phone customers out of the blue, ask for sensitive information about accounts, or people to move money between accounts.

The company’s terms and conditions state: “We won't refund any money if you've acted fraudulently, or you intentionally or carelessly failed to keep your Revolut account, such as your security details or Revolut card, safe.”

Lincolnshire Police has been given details of the scam including the HSBC account number that the money was transferred into, and the name of the account holder.

A police spokesperson said they are investigating but couldn’t comment on the case directly.

The fundraising page to help Bog Dog Running can be found at https://tinyurl.com/BogDogSupport

Bog Dog Running is due to move to Stamford town centre this summer, with Precision Sports and Kitman UK, which share the Ryhall Road business unit, also relocating within the area.

Police have issued the following advice:

“Banks will never ring and ask people for their PIN, to withdraw cash or purchase goods. They’ll never come to your home to collect cards, cash or items you have purchased. If anyone receives a call asking for any of these things they should end the call.

“If anyone gets a call from their bank or the police, make sure you know who the person is before handing over any personal details. Call the bank back using the number on the back of bank cards - and always use a different phone line. Use a phone owned by a family member or a friend.”