Stephanie Beacham issues urgent warning on scams after family member has £35,000 stolen

While Stephanie Beacham, 74, hasn’t been a victim of scams herself, the Dynasty star expressed her concerns after a family member was scammed out of £35,000. Santander has discovered that Brits receive 150 million suspicious calls every week, with 60 per cent reporting an increase in the number over the past year.

Experts say we should simply hang up on suspicious callers, but 47 percent of Brits fail to do so.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, the actress said: “I’ve known people, a family member actually was crooked of £35,000.

“That’s not a small amount of money.”

On how to put the phone down on scammers, she added: “I’d say, ‘thank you so much’ and put the phone down.”

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The mother-of-two said she had no suspicions about the hoax as “you don’t question your bank”.

In 2019, she told Express.co.uk she was yet to retrieve her money, but said her bank was on the case.

Finance expert Martin Lewis recently warned of the increase in scams over the coronavirus pandemic.

The presenter told The Guardian: “There is an epidemic of scams in the UK.

“It’s been exploding for the past three or four years, and it’s been exacerbated due to the pandemic.”

He has urged people to double check a suspicious company and to never give away personal details if something doesn’t sound right.

How to spot a suspicious phone call:

  • The call is out of the blue
  • The caller puts pressure on you to act now by telling you that you could miss out on a reward, or that your money is at risk
  • The caller asks you to share security or PIN codes that are used to access your bank account or make payments
  • The caller encourages you to download software or an app onto your phone, tablet, laptop or computer
  • The caller suggests that you should lie to your bank about why you are making a payment

Santander’s ‘Push Off, Politely’ campaign is in partnership with The Chelsea Pensioners and supported by Stephanie Beacham.

Together, they want to empower Brits to simply hang up the phone on scam callers.

Check out the Pensioners’ video and head to Santander’s website at www.santander.co.uk/security to find out how to spot and deal with fraud and scams. #PushOffPolitely #Santander.

source: express.co.uk