Sarah Smith, 29, of Northcroft, Whelley, lost £1,800 of her own money and a further £2,500 from an overdraft she had never used when the scamster struck, using a bogus email mimicking NatWest's online banking website.

Ms Smith, who has a 16-month-old daughter, was then told by the bank that not only is her money highly unlikely to be recovered, but she was liable for the money swiped from the overdraft, leaving her with a huge debt. Ms Smith said: "I have always been so careful with my money and when they told me I wouldn't get it back I couldn't believe it. I just felt terrible."

On April 29 this year Ms Smith received an email while at work, claiming to be from NatWest, asking her to update the passwords that allow her to use the bank's online banking facility.
She entered her passwords without giving it too much thought and went on a two-week family holiday to Spain.

On her return, Ms Smith saw that her account – which she has held for around 15 years – had been emptied and her overdraft extended and taken to the maximum.
After inquiring at the bank she was shocked to learn she had fallen victim to an online scam, known as phishing.

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