Denise Welch reveals she gave pin over the phone after falling victim to financial fraud

Amy Johnson
·Contributor
·3 min read
Denise Welch attends the 2019 British Academy Britannia Awards presented by American Airlines and Jaguar Land Rover at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 25, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Morgan Lieberman/WireImage)
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Denise Welch has opened up on the time she fell for a scam which saw her give out her pin to a fraudster over the phone.

The former Coronation Street star spoke about the incident, which took place several years ago, on Wednesday's Loose Women as they discussed the rise in financial fraud.

Welch, 62, said she was duped by a series of calls claiming to be coming from her bank's fraud department.

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She told her fellow panellists: "I fall for stuff very easily and it's really pathetic, I normally consider myself a woman of the world, but I am really not with things like that.

Lincoln Townley (L) and Denise Welch attend the My Generation special screening at BFI Southbank on March 14, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
Lincoln Townley (L) and Denise Welch attend the My Generation special screening at BFI Southbank on March 14, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

"I fell for one a couple of years ago which was the fraud department of my bank calling me, I was rehearsing a show so I kept coming out and it was the fraud department again.

"I was so worried, they said people had been accessing my account and taking money out of it, and this sounds so naive but because they were so clever and manipulative, and they did it over a couple of days, they eventually asked me for one of my PIN number and I gave it to them."

Welch added then when she informed her husband Lincoln Townley, his "head nearly exploded".

She continued: "I said I know it's totally ridiculous, and they had already taken the money, but it's because they were playing the long game."

Denise Welch attends
Denise Welch attends "The Crown" Season 3 world premiere at The Curzon Mayfair on November 13, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)

The presenter added she had been "more savvy" since falling victim to the scam, but that her father Vin Welch had also fallen for several scams over the years because of the "clever" callers.

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One person's experience with financial fraudsters recently went viral on Twitter as they warned their followers about texts claiming to be from Royal Mail.

Drama student Emmeline Hartley entered her bank details after receiving a text from 'Royal Mail' asking her to pay a £2.99 additional postage fee.

However, she went on receive a call from a person claiming to be calling from Barclays bank, with the scam eventually costing her "every penny" she had.

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