Beware - Bank fraud: Scammed out of £9,000 stolen from bank account

Some banks are failing to provide satisfactory support for devastated fraud victims, leaving them feeling abandoned at a time of crisis and exposed to future scam attempts, according to Which? research.

When a caller claiming to be a bank fraud investigator told Mark Wheeler there were suspicious transactions on his account, he was naturally alarmed.

But the "investigator" was a crook and the call led to £9,000 being stolen from the 62-year-old's account.

When he reported the incident to his bank, its initial response was good but it quickly turned sour, he said.

He's one of several fraud victims who claim to have been given little support from banks, consumer group Which? says.

It reported that some victims struggled to contact their bank after they had been a victim of a scam, including one HSBC customer who waited a total of seven hours on hold, racking up a £50 phone bill.

Source: BBC News* and Which? - and what to do* if become a scam victim.