Elderly Man Lost £35,000 To AI-Generated Scams

Mr Rushe began seeing social media advertisements promoting an investment opportunity which claimed to be endorsed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Piers Morgan and Martin Lewis, using AI-generated images of the high-profile figures. In 2023, Martin Lewis publicly warned about a scam that used deepfake technology to promote a fake investment using his image, and has frequently stated that neither he, nor his MoneySavingExpert brand, would ever endorse financial products.

Like many people affected by the scam, Mr Rushe wasn’t aware that the advertisement was fake. He contacted the scammers by phone in the hope of building a ‘nest egg’ for his family. After an initial conversation, he was assigned a ‘Financial Adviser’ called ‘Sophie’. ‘Sophie’ contacted Mr Rushe regularly and, over hundreds of calls, slowly groomed him into making a £13,000 transaction from his account to an online account accessed by the scammers.

Firstly, she persuaded Mr Rushe to open multiple new bank accounts and then to buy a new laptop to access his crypto account. Once this transaction was completed, the calls stopped completely. A year later, Mr Rushe was targeted twice more by what is believed to be the same network of scammers, and he was conned out of a further £20,000. After everything, the scammers still call at least once a day.

Mr Rushe’s son, Michael, has since noticed a “big deterioration” in his father’s health, both “mentally and physically”. He blames, in part, the banking institutions involved for failing to protect vulnerable people against increasingly manipulative and sophisticated APP fraud.

Banks have come under scrutiny in the past for blaming their customers for failing to detect fraud or for not taking the necessary precautions before transferring money to scammers. However, as recently as October 2024, new reimbursement rules were introduced, obligating banks to investigate fraud cases and reimburse customers within five working days if the case is straightforward.

The most important thing to do after suspecting fraudulent activity is to act quickly. Firstly, it’s important to report suspicious activity to your bank, the police, and Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud) – the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre.

If your bank has investigated your case and cannot offer reimbursement, there are alternative routes to justice and compensation, including:

• Contacting the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), the independent government-backed body responsible for settling disputes between regulated financial institutions and their customers.
• If there is strong evidence of financial crime and the police and/or the Crown Prosecution Service are not prepared to pursue the matter, then a private prosecution may be an appropriate way to hold scammers accountable and obtain compensation. This is a complex and challenging process requiring specialist legal support.

Sarah Spruce, Legal Director at TLW Solicitors, commented:

“We understand that being a victim of fraud can have a significant impact on a person’s health, both mentally and physically. Feelings of shame are common, and many people keep the consequences of the scam to themselves. Still, increasingly malicious AI-powered scams are making it difficult to spot fraudulent activity, so it’s important to know help is out there.

With APP fraud continuously on the rise and cases becoming more complex, as seen with this investment scam, it’s essential for victims not to give up if they don’t reach the solution they hoped for with their bank.

If you or a loved one has lost out financially due to an investment scam, get in touch with my specialist team for a confidential and no obligation discussion to explore your options.”