BBC News legend Moira Stewart has spoken of her ‘anger’ after nearly falling victim to an elaborate bank scam.
The Classic FM presenter, 75, risked losing a ‘fortunate’ from her account when she was targetted by a gang of fraudsters.
Moria said she never anticipated being nearly hoodwinked as she was ‘very aware’ of scams from her years as a reporter.
However, she wants to speak out to ensure no one else feels the ‘shame and embarrassment’ associated with being scammed, she told The Times.
The criminals first contacted Moira and pretended to be her bank on her landline which she ‘didn’t question’ as she is ex-directory.
They told Moira a staff member had removed money from her account as part of an ‘inside job’ at the bank.
To catch the guilty parties, they wanted Moira to transfer another amount to see if they would intercept it.
But while still on the phone to the scammers, she went to her bank in person and recounted to a cashier what she had been told.
He realised there was an issue and immediately transferred her to the anto-fraud team who were able to stop the scam.
But Moira said she felt ‘absolutely devastated, embarrassed and angry with myself.’
She continued: ‘If you’re very independent, as I am, it feels like you have let yourself down, your family, everyone who knows you.
‘This feeling, this intrusion, it doesn’t leave you.’
Moria now wants to raise awareness of being a victim of a scam, saying: ‘There is so much shame and embarrassment attached to this sort of thing but it’s important that it’s talked about so people are aware.’
Moira has led an illustrious career, joining BBC News in the early 1980s as the first newsreader of Caribbean heritage to appear on British national TV.
She had previously worked at the broadcaster in the 1970s, with her roles including being a production assistant in the Radio Talks and Documentaries department.
The presenter was a newsreader on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 and hosts her own show on Classic FM on Saturdays called The Hall of Fame Concert.
Moira was appointed an OBE in 2001 for services to broadcasting, and a CBE in 2022 for services to media.
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In 2021, she competed on the Strictly Christmas special with Aljaž Škorjanec, with the duo performing a Salsa to Santa Claus Is Coming to Town