Vicar speaks out after falling victim to phone scam
A reverend has said she had been "really stupid" after falling victim to a mobile phone scam.
Jenny Seggar, who is the rector at Two Rivers Benefice near Ipswich told the BBC about how she was fooled in 2025 when she received a call from who she believed was her mobile phone provider, Tesco Mobile. The woman said her SIM card needed replacing but also said there was offer for a new iPhone and Apple Watch, which Seggar refused, saying she only wanted the SIM card replacement.
When a new iPhone and Apple Watch arrived in the post withou the new SIM, she contacted the number and was told there had been a mix up, and she should return the items using the QR code which was sent to her.
Seggar provided th QR code at the post office and the items were sent - though instead of going to Tesco Mobile, they were sent to a private address, the one belonging to the scammers.
What had happened was before contacting Seggar, the scammers had got hold of her details, ordered a new iPhone and Apple Watch using the stolen data to be sent to Seggar's address, then contacted her pretending to be Tesco Mobile so when the items arrived, it would not feel out of the blue. The scammers then provide the QR code with the forwarding address for her to send the items on, thinking they were being returned to the company.
Tesco Mobile assure Seggar that she was not charged for the incident, and it never cold calls its customers.
It is a growing scam. Fraud prevention service Cifas claims there were 29,000 cases of mobile dealer fraud in 2025.
It also comes as five men are jailed for their parts in a mobile dealer fraud which cost network providers more than £1.5 million. The men handled more than 1,600 devices during their crimes, and were collectively sentenced to more than 22 years in prison.
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