'Fraudsters landed me with £150 McDonald's bill'

A British fraud victim spoke today of his shock when he discovered a £150 bill at a Brazilian McDonald's restaurant on his bank statement.

Joe Pearson, 53, who has never been to Brazil, was horrified to find the £151.99 transaction at the fast food outlet - which could buy a customer 76 Big Mac burgers or 43 medium Big Mac meals.

Retired Mr Pearson, from Gloucester, does not know how his Barclays bank account details were accessed, but a code on his statement allowed anti-fraud staff to track the transaction to an outlet in Brazil.

A call centre worker contacted him to alert him to the possible fraud, so Mr Pearson used internet banking to check his balance.

He said: "I looked at my statement online and there were two transactions from McDonald's. The total came to £151.99.

"I called Barclays Bank and they told me it was from a McDonald's restaurant in Brazil.

"Well, I couldn't believe this. I couldn't believe someone could spend that much in McDonald's - they must have been having a party or something.

"I wouldn't eat at McDonald's myself and I couldn't even travel to Brazil if I wanted to - my passport is expired."

Mr Pearson, who retired due to ill health, said he previously used his card to purchase items online, but is careful with his details.
"I have only had the card for a year," he said.

"I'm very careful with my details, I don't give them out. I've made purchases on the internet through Paypal, but aside from that I only use it in the machine."

Mr Pearson had to sign statements to confirm it was not him who made the transaction and Barclays agreed to refund the money to his bank account.

A spokesman for the bank said: "Our fraud detection system must have picked it up and thought it was bizarre that either the gentleman was in Brazil or realised it was such a large amount to spend in a fast food restaurant.

"Although we have a very sophisticated and successful fraud detection system we still want customers to be aware and we would encourage all our customers to be vigilant and to review their bank statements regularly."