Real life scam stories

While the details are based on actual cases, we've changed all the names, locations and other aspects to protect the identity of the people involved.

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Cryptocurrency fraud

Social engineering scam

Purchase scam

Romance scam

Crypto fraud is a rapidly growing scam. Fraudsters use social media, fake websites, and phishing to trick people into investing in fake cryptocurrency assets. They often promise high returns with little to no risk.

This is the story of an HSBC customer who became a victim of a cryptocurrency scam. While the details have been fictionalised, they are based on a real-life case.

Melissa started investing in cryptocurrency

Melissa had banked with HSBC for 11 years and had never tried her hand at investing before. She followed a well-known influencer on social media, who portrayed himself as a successful businessman with a focus on promoting investments. 

This piqued her interest. When she got in touch with him directly online, he persuaded her to start investing in cryptocurrency. Nothing appeared unusual or suspicious at this point. The influencer seemed successful and had persuaded other people to invest in similar opportunities.

How she funded the investments

First, the influencer told Melissa to open an account with a cryptocurrency trading platform to get started. She also provided the influencer with access to the new account so he could help manage her investments. Melissa made payments from her HSBC account to her new cryptocurrency account, so she could trade.

The influencer contacted her regularly over 13 months with investment advice. He led her to believe her investment was growing in value. This is something fraudsters do to maintain trust. In that time, Melissa made 160 payments amounting to more than £300,000.

Melissa said: "I actually sold many of my assets to help fund these payments because he kept telling me that I would make significant returns on these investments."

Promising high returns is a common method that fraudsters use to convince customers to invest more.

Coached by the fraudster

Many of these payments triggered our fraud detection mechanism. As a result, we made several calls to Melissa to discuss the payments. However, the fraudster had coached Melissa into how to respond to these calls. Again, it's a common technique that criminals use to try to stop banks from spotting fraud.

Melissa finally found out she'd fallen victim to a cryptocurrency scam when she spoke to a family member about her investments. They searched online for the influencer and the supposed investments. That's when they realised he wasn't legitimate and there were a number of scam warnings.

By the time Melissa reported it to us, the fraudster had already moved the funds out of her account and her money was gone.

Common scams to watch out for:

Explore: Preventing cryptocurrency fraud

Social engineering scams are where criminals pretend to be someone you trust, like your bank or the police. Their goal is to earn your trust and trick you into sharing personal information or sending them money.

This is called a 'social engineering scam' because the scammers tell lies that play on your emotions. These lies are meant to scare you into giving up your information and money.

This is the story of an HSBC customer who was caught up in a social engineering scam. While the details have been fictionalised, they are based on a real-life case.

The initial scam call

HSBC customer Gordon got a call from someone pretending to be from our internal fraud team. The scammer gave a fake work number to 'prove' he was really from HSBC. Instead, the number connected Gordon to other scammers who falsely confirmed the call was 'genuine'.

Deception

The scammers broke down Gordon's trust by telling him there was internal fraud at HSBC and his money was at risk. They even tried to get his family's account details but were unsuccessful. Thinking he was dealing with our real  fraud team, Gordon made several purchases and shared his one-time passcode. This gave the scammers access to his account.

When we contacted him to check these purchases, Gordon confirmed they were real, and we removed the fraud blocks. The scammers continued to call Gordon, tricking him into buying gold and transferring money from other bank accounts. Each time, the real HSBC fraud team tried to check these suspicious purchases, but Gordon continued to confirm they were real.

The financial impact

We tried to recover Gordon's money once the scam was discovered, but by then, the scammers had made payments of more than £90,000 in just one week.

If someone contacts you out of the blue by phone, email or text message:

Remember, HSBC will never ask you to:

Purchase scams happen when you’re paying for an item or service. The sender has no intent to provide the item or service, and your money is lost. Often, these scams offer a tempting discount or claim to have 'limited availability'. Fraudsters typically ask you to send money via bank transfer.

Here’s an example of how a purchase scam can happen. An HSBC customer lost nearly  £1,000 after falling victim to a purchase scam. While the details have been fictionalised, it is based on a real-life case.

It looked like a bargain

Tom had banked with HSBC for several years and was helping his father look for a van to help him move house and to use after the move. 

They saw a 2018 VW Caddy van for sale on an auction website which they thought looked like a real bargain. It was a business seller asking for a £950 deposit, with the full price advertised as £4,500.

Tom said: "It seemed ideal and much cheaper than I was expecting. We were very excited to have found such a good price, so we were eager to go through with it before it was sold to someone else."

In his excitement, he paid the deposit by bank transfer and drove from his home in south London to the address in Brighton given by the seller. But when he spoke to the people living there, they told him there was no van for sale. They were puzzled by what was happening because somebody else had also knocked on their door earlier to ask the same questions.

Too good to be true

It was at this point that Tom realised he and his father had been scammed. 

"I couldn't believe it. I was so angry that we'd been tricked in this way. The van I'd paid a £950 deposit for didn't even exist, he said.

Tom reported the fraud to us, and we looked into what had happened. The true market value for that type of van with 90,000 miles on the clock, with no damage, was closer to £14,000, not £4,500. The price was too good to be true – and that should have set alarm bells ringing. Tom confirmed to us that he and his father didn't carry out any checks on the seller.

Loss of deposit

There was no discussion about the size of the deposit, which was 20% of the value of the vehicle. Tom also didn't ask why a deposit was needed before he had chance to see the van. There were other tell-tale signs that Tom should have been suspicious about - for example, the seller's bank account was a personal one, even though it was listed as a business on the auction site.

By the time Tom reported the scam to us, the money had gone.

"Later on, I felt foolish because we had clearly rushed into this without thinking straight," said Tom.

“I've learned my lesson the harsh way. I won't be making the same mistake again, that's for sure." 

Be suspicious if a seller wants you to make a bank transfer – or asks you to send money before receiving an item or service.

In Tom's case, he should have completed checks to make sure the item and seller were genuine, such as:

Remember, if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.

A romance scam is a cybercrime where fraudsters create fake online profiles to trick victims on dating apps, social media, or gaming platforms. They quickly build an emotional connection to manipulate victims into sending money, buying gifts, or sharing personal details.

Read our story of how one woman was conned out of £100,000 in a romance scam. While the details have been fictionalised, it is based on a real-life case.

This article was last updated: 07/05/2026, 07:11