Good Morning Britain star Noel Phillips shared the devastating impact of being embroiled in a scam which saw him lose his entire life savings.
The North American correspondent shared the story of the brutal experience on the ITV show on Wednesday.
Joining hosts Ed Balls and Kate Garraway via a video link, Phillips candidly reflected on the moment he realised he had been scammed.
He explained that scammers pretending to be from Chase Bank had called him, informing him his account had been compromised.
**ARE YOU READING THIS ON OUR APP? DOWNLOAD NOW FOR THE BEST GB NEWS EXPERIENCE**
When he called back the number, he was somehow connected to his bank’s customer service. he would later realise this had been part of the con to make the call look authentic.
When he received another call from them, he also got a notification on his banking app, confirming a payment which hadn’t been made by him.
He had been locked out of the system and immediately went to the bank, with the callers still on the line.
Heartbreakingly, he had already lost his entire life savings of $30,000 through the transaction.
The scammers had convinced Phillips to transfer the money into separate accounts, which they assured him had his name on it.
Detailing the mental impact of being on the receiving end of such a con, Phillips admitted to ITV viewers: “I’m still in disbelief.”
He continued: “I remember two weeks ago I was lying on the kitchen floor numb, refusing to accept the fact I did something so stupid. I felt embarrassed, I felt ashamed, I felt worthless.
“On top of that, the excruciating pain of all of this is the mental trauma. The fact that I for the last couple of days wake up in the middle of the night, pick up my phone and open my banking app in hopes that this was all a twisted reality.
“How could someone like me who reports stories like this fall a victim? How could this happen to me?”
In a statement, Chase Bank said: “These type of scams are heartbreaking.
“We urge all consumers to ignore all phone, texts or internet requests to move money or gain access to their bank accounts. Banks and legitimate companies won’t make these requests that scammers will.”
However, Phillips revealed his bank “turned its back on him” after the scam. The news comes just days after it was confirmed Phillips had been axed by Good Morning Britain, which he has featured in since 2021, thanks to ITV cuts.
The cuts form part of a wider restructuring that will see 220 production staff out of 440 lose their jobs across ITV’s daytime programming.
Lorraine and Loose Women have also been impacted by changes set to be introduced next year.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Danielle Lloyd shares candid cancer update as model issues warning to fans amid health battleSheridan Smith left ‘a shaking mess’ in true story portrayal of Ann Ming in ITV’s I Fought The LawHarry Potter announces Riz Ahmed as Snape in new audio series amid backlash to Paapa Essiedu casting
Lorraine Kelly’s self-titled programme will be slashed from an hour to 30 minutes and reduced to just 30 weeks per year from January, as part of sweeping changes to ITV’s daytime schedule announced last month.