“If you happen to have verification set up on your mobile number they will get that text message. It’s something called SIM swap, which was the first time I’d ever heard of this.”
Essentially, this meant that every account where Ms Fowler would use her mobile number as a way of verifying her identity was now vulnerable and potentially already in the hands of fraudsters.
She continued: “The guy and the store managed to stop it if you like and swap it back so I started to get signal back on my mobile.”
While it seemed like the worst had past, it was only just beginning for Ms Fowler as she shared: “While I was there I used their WiFi to log on to my Premium Bonds account and I literally felt sick.
“I had about £9,000 on my account and my daughter Ellie had about £1,800 on her account from her christening, because she’s under 16 it’s a linked account.”