Salisbury man loses £1,000 in power tools after fake banking app scam display during in-person transaction on 11 February

Summary

A man in Salisbury, Wiltshire, lost over £1,000 worth of power tools after a scammer used a fake banking app to display a false payment confirmation during an in-person transaction on 11 February. The scammer, who introduced himself as Liam Wright, convinced the victim that a bank transfer had been successfully made before leaving with the tools, but the money never reached the victim’s account. Another victim in Liverpool, John Reddock, was similarly scammed for £2,000 after selling a gold bracelet, with the scammer using a fake app to show a successful payment before taking the item. Over 500 reports of fake banking app scams have been recorded in the UK in the past three years, with versions of the apps still available online for Android devices outside official app stores. The scam has caused significant emotional distress to victims, with some reporting mental health impacts and a loss of trust in others. Despite reporting the incidents, police have been unable to identify or apprehend the perpetrators in these cases.