Takeaway owner 'devastated' after losing more than £1,000 to scammers

22 February 2022, 14:35 | Updated: 22 February 2022, 15:03

Business owner Sammy Davies says she was targeted by a clever fraudster who changed her bank details.

A takeaway owner has been left ‘in shock’ after they were allegedly scammed out of more than £1,000.

Sammy Davies, who runs Sammy's Milkshake Wonders in Wrexham, Wales, warned fellow business owners to ‘beware’ after falling victim to the suspected fraud.

Taking to her Facebook page, Sammy said that a ‘hacker’ gained her trust on the phone before logging in to her Just Eat account and changing her business' bank details.

• Rats 'the size of cats' sneaking through toilets into UK homes, pest expert warns
• ‘My mum demands I buy her gifts on my birthday to thank her for giving birth’
• First Victoria's Secret model with Down's Syndrome says her 'dreams have come true'

The restaurant owner had been in touch with Just Eat a week before and said she had ‘no reason’ to suspect that a call she received on Monday wasn’t genuine.

Speaking about the reported criminals, Sammy told her Facebook followers: “They got into the app and changed the bank details of what we earned last week from our customers and got it all paid into their account.”

She continued: “We have lost all our hard working last week, completely gone. I’m so upset this has happened to us, my staff and drivers."

Before adding: “This has hit my small business very hard and I wish this not to happen to anyone else.”

After posting her story on social media, lots of local customers have been quick to offer their support.

According to the Mirror, one man from a local food delivery service Wrexham Eats even gave Sammy £300 to help her pay her staff.

In another post on her social media account, Sammy thanked everyone for reaching out.

She said: “I have no words than thank you so, so much Wrexham eats for the support you have given our shop today and we can still keep going with the help you have given us.”

A Just Eat spokesperson told us: "We take the safeguarding of restaurant accounts on the Just Eat platform extremely seriously and we are currently investigating what happened in this restaurant's case.

"We continually review our security measures and always advise restaurant partners to be vigilant about their online security and recommend that they use unique passwords for different online platforms."