IPSWICH: A young woman has spoken of her fears at getting caught up in a criminal conspiracy after waking one morning to find a mysterious deposit of �85,000 in her bank account.

Jade Hutchings had opened an online saver account with Halifax at the beginning of November, depositing �460 at first.

But when she logged in to transfer some more money over just a week later, she was shocked to discover a whopping �85,000 had been credited to her account – and she had no idea where it had come from.

The 19-year-old, who lives in Whitton, said: “I woke up and went to go and transfer some money from one account to the other, and my heart skipped a beat because it said there was �85,000 in my account.

“Straight away I was thinking there was some sort of fraud or money laundering going on.

“I panicked. Of course anyone would wish they could keep it, but it wasn’t my money to spend.”

The insurance worker went with mum Rachel to the Halifax branch in the Buttermarket to alert them to the error, but she said it took three days for the cash to leave her account.

She added: “They said the money had been put in there by mistake and said one of their computers had picked up the number wrongly.

“I was really worried about identity fraud because whoever put the money in is walking round with my bank details. I was losing sleep as well because I was scared that if my work found out, they would want to know where the money came from.

“It doesn’t put Halifax in a good light, if they can make an easy mistake like that with so much money.”

Mum Rachel said she would like some assurance from the bank that her daughter’s bank details have remained confidential.

She said: “I was really shocked when she told me, but I thought at least I have brought her up right because we went and told them about it straight away.

“Everyone dreams about waking up and seeing that amount in your bank account, but when it actually happens, it’s totally different – it’s a nightmare.”

Although the error was inadvertent, it would be a criminal offence to spend the money knowing it does not belong to you.

A spokesperson for Halifax said: “Owing to a processing error, �85,000 was incorrectly paid into Ms Hutchings’ savings account.

“We have apologised for the incident and offered Ms Hutchings a payment in recognition of the inconvenience.”

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