Hi, my name is Rachel and I run a small manufacturing bakery in Scotland.
I’ve spent years building my business from the ground up, long days, long nights, reinvesting everything back in, and doing things properly.
Last week, my business was targeted by a professional phone scam.
I received a call from someone claiming to be my bank. They had my details, spoke convincingly, and created a sense of urgency around “fraud prevention.” While I was on the phone with them, money began leaving my account in real time. I tried to stop it. I tried to decline it. But despite raising the alarm immediately, £8,000 was taken from my business account.
I reported the fraud straight away.
The devastating part?
My bank has now told me they consider the payments “authorised” and are refusing to reimburse the funds.
That £8,000 wasn’t spare money. It was:
• ingredient costs
• packaging
• wages
• deliveries
• the cash that keeps my business trading week to week
I don’t have investors to fall back on.
I don’t have a safety net and I don’t have access to emergency funds or loans.
Without this money, my business genuinely risks grinding to a halt, not because I failed, not because I was reckless, but because I was targeted by criminals and then abandoned by the system meant to protect customers from fraud.
I am still pursuing formal complaints and escalation, but those processes take months. My business doesn’t have months.
I’ve never asked for help like this before. This is incredibly hard to write but right now, I’m asking for support to:
• replace the stolen funds
• keep the business operating
• protect the livelihoods tied to it
• give me the breathing space to fight this properly
If you can donate, even a small amount, it genuinely helps. If you can’t donate, sharing this means more than you know.
Thank you for reading.
Thank you for believing small businesses deserve protection and thank you for helping me keep going when this has knocked the wind out of me.
Organizer
Rachel Munro
Organizer