Loose Women star Linda Robson has admitted she was left 'shaken' after being targeted by online scammers pretending to be her daughter - almost losing hundreds of pounds.
Linda Robson has been left shaken up after she was the target of online scammers recently, with the scammers pretending to be her daughter Roberta asking to borrow money. Believing the scam, Linda admits she almost sent money over before realising it wasn't truly her daughter messaging her.
"I was on Loose Women when I got a Whatsapp message from my daughter, saying: 'I've dropped my phone down the toilet, can you send me some money?' I rang her and then she texted me saying: 'I can't pick up the phone because it's gone down the toilet.' It sounded like it was my daughter, she was saying things we would say to each other, and used her nickname for her - Bobbi Girl," Linda told The Mirror.
She admitted: "I really thought it was true. would've sent the money the scammers wanted - £150 - because I was really worried she didn’t have any. Luckily one of the bosses on the show said to me: 'I think you're being scammed'. So I asked the person on the phone for the name of our dog. They said Gerald, and I said: ‘No, my dog's called Dolly. So that's when I knew I was being scammed."
Linda shares son Louis and daughter Roberta with her former husband Mark Dunford, and has another daughter, Lauren.
Continuing to detail the emotional impact the ordeal has had on her, the star shared: "I was quite shaken afterwards because it was scary how convincing it was," she said. And it’s happening to more and more people now - friends of mine have been targeted and lost hundreds of pounds. I think everyone - but especially us older people - need to be aware of the risks. I'm 66 now, so I'm not as savvy as the younger people. We need to be really, really careful.”
The scam comes after Linda revealed she could potentially need her pancreas removed. During a heartfelt chat on Loose Women with co-stars Ruth Langsford, Brenda Edwards, and Janet Street-Porter, the TV favourite discussed the impact of illness on families in light of Kate Middleton's recent announcement about completing cancer treatment.
Opening up on the health scare, Linda said: "I have had a bit of health scare quite a few years ago I had gall stones and they damaged my pancreas and they've been keeping an eye on me for a while now."
Linda detailed her recent medical examinations and is anxiously awaiting the results of her latest scan. She went on to say: "I had a cyst on my pancreas and it went from one to two cm so the kids have been really worried about me," and mentioned she's waiting to see if the cyst has increased in size. A concerned Ruth responded with surprise, asking if this was an ongoing issue.
Linda confirmed, "Yes," and expressed her concern: "If it is [bigger] then they'll have to remove my pancreas which means I'd then be a diabetic but fingers crossed that won't happen and the cysts won't have grown. I feel quite positive about it but the kids are obviously worried about it.
"I make jokes about it all the time because I try to diffuse them worrying about me. When I did go to the hospital they came with me and taped everything the doctors said because I would have forgotten everything that they said."
