Adam Rickitt: how much did Hollyoaks star lose in Barclays bank scam? Actor gives tips with wife Katy Rickitt

Former Hollyoaks and Coronation Street actor Adam Rickitt has urged people to watch out for fraudsters after being conned out of a significant amount of money.

The actor was caught out by people pretending to be from Barclays bank.

NationalWorld has reported on several recent scams, many of which have sought to capitalise on the cost of living crisis.

So, how was Adam Rickitt caught out - and what advice did he give alongside his wife Katy Rickitt?

Here’s what you need to know.

Who is Adam Rickitt?

Adam Rickitt is an actor who is most famous for recurring roles in UK soaps Hollyoaks and Coronation Street.

The Cheshire star played the role of Nick Tilsley in 276 episodes of Corrie between 1997 and 2004.

He then starred in New Zealand soap Shortland Street between 2007 and 2010 before taking the role of Kyle Kelly in Hollyoaks from 2017 until 2020.

Alongside his TV roles, Rickitt has appeared on stage and also had a brief pop career in the early noughties.

Away from acting and music, he has attempted to pursue a career in politics with the Conservative Party.

In 2014, Rickitt married ITV journalist Katy Fawcett, who is part of the Good Morning Britain team.

The pair own a bottle shop - Dexter & Jones - in Knutsford, Cheshire.

It was this business and its account that was targeted by fraudsters.

How did Adam Rickitt get scammed?

In an Instagram post from 2 September, Adam Rickitt revealed he had been the victim of a fraud scam.

He told his followers that he received a text purporting to be from his bank Barclays, that warned him there had been suspicious activity on his account.

The message said he would be getting contacted by a member of their fraud team, and a call from an 0845 number duly came through - a number which matched the official Barclays fraud line listed on the bank’s website.

Mr Rickitt didn’t realise the Barclays number had been ghosted by fraudsters.

Over a period of two to three hours on the phone, the actor said he was guided through the same security questions he usually gets asked by his bank.

The scammers were also able to tell him how much money was in his account and his history with Barclays.

He was told someone had tried to withdraw money from his account at Barclays’ branch in Crewe using details carried on his driving licence and passport, as well as his signature.

The star told the fraudster that the person could not have these details as they were at his home - something he checked with his wife Katy.

The fraudster then hung up saying he needed to check internally what had happened.

Mr Rickitt said he was rung back by the man after having tried the official Barclays fraud line on a friend’s phone.

The man told him Barclays believed an inside job had been carried out after having reviewed CCTV footage from the branch.

All the while, Mr Rickitt had checked the man’s identity on Linkedin, was ringing the official Barclays fraud number and was even, at one stage, transferred to the scammer’s ‘manager’.

He was told he needed to make a dummy payment to test their fraud reaction systems and that Barclays may need to close his bank account - something that would have severely impacted his business.

But, after making the so-called dummy payment, almost £50,000 was taken from his business account despite him being told nothing would leave it.

He then ceased communication with the scammers, who had intended to empty his account.

What did Adam Rickitt advise people to do?

The type of scam Adam Rickitt was caught out by is known as an authorised push payment (APP) scam.

It involves someone willingly transferring money from their own banking account to a scammer’s, usually as a result of a highly sophisticated fraud operation.

Adam Rickitt told ITV people needed to take three steps if they received a similar call purporting to be from their bank.

These were:

• Hang up the phone
• Call the number on the back of your card
• Check if your bank is covered by the Contingency Reimbursement Model

The last of these determines whether you can be reimbursed after getting scammed.

It does not guarantee you will get your money back as the bank can judge that you have been “grossly negligent”.