14-year-old from Cornwall scammed out of life savings trying to buy his first tractor
Harvey had managed to save up over £8,000 for the purchase
Last updated 30th Apr 2021
A 14-year-old boy from Hayle has been conned out of thousands of pounds when trying to buy his first tractor.
Harvey Waters comes from a farming family and has spent years saving up to make the purchase.
His dad went into the bank with him to draw out his life savings, of £8,500, and popped it into the family account so they could pay the eBay seller by card.
Mum Rachel told us how everything seemed legitimate and they even spoke to seller on the phone, and emails were going back and forth.
The delivery date was set and the payment was made via a Paypal invoice through Rachel's email.
But as soon as the funds were sent the money went into an account abroad, and no delivery was made.
Rachel had no correspondance and couldn't get hold of the seller, and at that point she knew they had been scammed.
She read an article in Farmers Weekly and it turned out a man up country had also been scammed by the same seller.
"It was sickening, absolutely sickening, and stupidity on our part as well. It's my son's life savings, he'd saved up since he was born to buy his first tractor and he got so excited, and when he realised his money was gone he was absolutely distraught.
"It's going to probably take another 14 years for him to save up again, if we can try and help him along as well."
Rachel Waters, Hayle
Now Rachel is urging other people not to fall victim to similar scams.
"Be very, very careful, do your homework prior to any purchases being made and if something seems too good to be true then it probably is."
A Go Fund Me page has now been launched to help Harvey out and has already raised several thousand pounds.
It comes as figures reveal fraudsters have stolen more than £30million from people in Cornwall and Devon during the pandemic.
£31 million stolen by fraudsters in Cornwall and Devon during the pandemic
Criminals have taken advantage of the rise in internet purchases as well as concerns over health and wellbeing through the crisis, says Action Fraud.
The UK's fraud and cyber crime authority says most victims were targeted through online shopping scams.
In Devon and Cornwall, 10,630 incidents of fraud and cyber crime were reported from the start of February last year to the end of March this year, according to data from Action Fraud.
The value of the crimes amounted to £31 million, the equivalent of around £7,311 each day.
"In what has been an incredibly challenging year, we have sadly seen devious criminals taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic as a means to commit fraud.
"To carry out their scams, criminals have been honing in on people’s anxieties and the changes that have occurred to our daily lives, such as the fact we have all been shopping online more."
Action Fraud