Elderly man conned out of thousands by fraudsters pretending to be police officers
The victim, in his 80s, was told to leave almost £8,000 outside his front door
An elderly man from Hyndburn was conned out of almost £8,000 by fraudsters who posed as police officers.
The victim was called by a man who said he was from the fraud squad and to ring back on 999.
The line was kept open and the victim was told someone had been fiddling with his bank account and he needed to go and withdraw the money and leave it outside his house.
The money was collected by a woman described as Asian, driving a grey or silver transit type van with black writing on the side spelling out 'super dial'.
Sgt Charlotte Alldritt, of East Police said: “This was a despicable crime which has conned an elderly man out of thousands of pounds. The victim in this case is clearly very upset and it serves as a timely warning to others to be aware that there are people out there who will prey on others and who can come across as very professional. There are examples in other parts of the country where people have lost large amounts of money by falling foul of similar scams.”
If you think you have been a victim of fraud please contact police on 101 or Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. Anyone with information about this case should call police on 101 quoting log number 0238 of June 21st.
For more information, help and advice on how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud please visit https://www.actionfraud.police.uk.