They said my account was at risk. The call was the risk.

They opened with "suspicious activity" on my account and sounded like the fraud desk I had heard on real calls. The call itself was the attack—they were not protecting me.

They asked for PINs, one-time codes, and finally a transfer to a "safe" account while criminals were supposedly draining me. I cooperated because I thought I was stopping a thief.

Vishing fakes fraud alerts to harvest credentials and move money. The safe account was theirs; the story was bait. I lost savings before the real bank could flag anything.

Caller ID matched my branch enough to feel legitimate, and I was rushed. I trusted the process because it mirrored warnings I had seen in real letters.

When I hung up and dialled the number on my card, the agent said no alert had been filed and outbound transfers had already posted. That calm sentence contradicted everything the scammer had shouted.

Shame sat heavy until a fraud specialist said these scripts fool plenty of careful people. Reporting helped more than replaying the call alone.

I now hang up on every inbound fraud call and call my bank on the number on the card. I wish I had done that from the first ring.

• Never transfer money to a "safe" account on a caller's instructions.

For more help, see our Report a scam page and Spot and avoid scams guide.