A HORLEY pensioner says he was scammed out of hundreds of pounds by fraudsters claiming to be from Sky.
Howard Bretman was at his Oldfield Close home at around 3pm last Tuesday when he answered his landline phone.
The 72-year-old told the Mirror: "I had this person saying I would be getting new viewing cards and I said, 'Yeah OK fine'. I thought, 'Why are they telling me, normally it just turns up'."
The retired engineering lecturer was then left even more baffled the following day when he received a second call.
Mr Bretman continued: "I got a phone call from a chap who says 'I'm from Sky'. He said we wanted to give security codes for the viewing cards. I said to him, 'How do I actually know you are from Sky?' and he said, 'Ask me any questions you like'.
"I asked, 'How much am I paying?' and he told me exactly how much and my Sky package details. So as far as I am concerned this is now genuine.
"He said that I had been overcharged so much a month because they had me down for a protection scheme which I wasn't actually in and they wanted to give me a refund."
Mr Bretman says the caller explained Sky could not transfer the refund without his bank details and so persuaded him to reveal details from his card reader, a device used for internet banking.
He said the caller already knew his card details.
Mr Bretman added: "I had only used that card once the day before to pay for a holiday. It was brand new. About ten minutes later I got a call from Nationwide saying they had noticed strange amounts of money leaving the account and asked if I had made a payment of £290 to someone."
A member of bank staff also informed Mr Breton that £4,000 had been moved from his savings account into his current account, ready to be transferred.
Nationwide closed his online account before this could take place.
In the wake of the crime, Mr Bretman has urged others to be wary of similar calls.
He added: "I'm going to be a lot more suspicious in the future. I thought I was doing it right by asking all the questions. The caller just seemed genuine."
Mr Bretman informed Surrey Police who have transferred the incident to Action Fraud, the UK's national fraud and internet crime reporting centre.
Sky have a issued words of guidance for any customers who may receive a hoax call:
"-we would advise any customer who is concerned whether or not a call really is from Sky to hang up and call us back on 03442 414141
- In terms of this particular scam, it's worth noting that we would never contact a customer to request payment over the phone for a replacement viewing card
- If you are due a refund on your account it's very unusual for us to ask for your bank details over the phone, if you are suspicious at all please hang up and call us on the number above
- Our advisors are trained on what to do when customers contact us to report alleged fraudulent activity, including where the fraudster claims affiliation with Sky, and we have a robust security system in place which means we log complaints from customers relating to fraudulent or criminal activity committed by third parties
- We advise customers where relevant to report details to Action Fraud, the central body for all fraud reporting in the UK"