Adam Rickitt opens up on being scammed out of £50,000 in bank fraud

Watch: Adam Rickitt opens up on being scammed out of £50,000

Former soap star Adam Rickitt has revealed how he was conned out of nearly £50,000 in a bank fraud scam, sharing his relief at finally getting the money back.

The actor, known for his roles in Coronation Street and Hollyoaks, had posted on social media last week to warn his fans about falling victim to the same crime and said he felt "embarrassed".

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Now, he has appeared on Good Morning Britain with wife Katy, a correspondent for the ITV news show, where he spoke about exactly how much was taken and their stressful battle to get it back.

Speaking from the gin bar that he and Katy run together, Adam told hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls: "We lost £50,000 or just shy of that - £49,500.

"The scary thing is that wasn’t what they were aiming for - they were aiming to empty our entire business account. It was purely by chance after this two, three hour process that I was able to spot that the money that I was told would never be leaving our account, had actually left and it wasn’t Barclays I was speaking to."

The Rickitts explained more about how they'd been scammed, with Adam saying: "The most convincing thing for me, despite looking them up on linkedin, was the fact that they knew too much about my bank account for them not to be Barclays. They knew how much was in the bank to the nearest penny and they knew every single cash withdrawal we’d made from ATMs. They were able to run through all the ATM withdrawals we’d made."

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He added: "Barclays have been fantastic throughout this whole process. We got a call yesterday morning saying the funds had come back to us.

"Just because we’ve got our money back, that’s not where this crime ends for me. I think more needs to be done."

Katy also said that victims of similar scams are not guaranteed to get their money back as smaller banks might not offer reimbursement and even larger banks ask customers to prove that they could not have done anything to prevent the fraud.

In his post on Instagram, Adam had written: "CONFESSION TIME! I know a lot of people will laugh at me for this...but I want to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else.

"I got completely scammed this week by some fraudsters impersonating @barclaysuk I was 100% sure it was the bank, that they were helping me and that I wasn't even transferring funds or giving any details away.

"Alas the former wasn't true..they managed to duplicate everything I thought to be safe...they knew EVERYTHING about me and my history with the bank...

"I know we all think we know what to do or how to react...but honestly I have never known the stress it created over the course of the scam...and now the embarrassment I feel.

"I can't even begin to suggest how to protect yourself as I thought I was doing everything right...but please just be aware there's people out there who know exactly how to play the system. Be safe x"

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Adam, 44, also posted a lengthy video from his bar in which he appeared to be holding back tears as he explained more about what had happened.

He added that he wasn't "the brightest button", but said that the scammer who called him had been completely convincing as a member of Barclays fraud department.

Adam said that he had struggled to be able to look wife Katy in the eye as he told her how "tens of thousands of pounds" had been stolen from his account.

His friends offered support, with Liz McClarnon commenting: "Oh no!!! Ahh, I’m so sorry!"

Kelle Bryan wrote: "Mate don't feel stupid. They are absolute k****. I am so sorry. Thank you so much for being so brave."

Chelsee Healey added: "Hope your ok. Absoloute scum bags."

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