93-year-old loses hundreds of pounds in phone scam
A 93-YEAR-OLD man has been duped out of £700 after falling victim to a telephone banking scam.
He had calls to his Neath home asking him to pay the cash by electronic transfer to India so he could have bank charges reimbursed.
The last straw was when he was asked to pay £2,000 — the caller even offered him a taxi to take him to the bank — and police were alerted.
The elderly man was getting several calls a day, including two while police were actually at his home interviewing him.
Inspector Jeff Handley of the Neath neighbourhood policing team said: "This elderly gentleman made six or seven transactions of £100 or more as he believed that this would entitle him to have bank charges of thousands of pounds reimbursed to him.
"Our inquiries to date have established that the man worked for most of his life and has never incurred any bank charges.
"An investigation into this incident is ongoing and we are making arrangements for the victim to be given appropriate support.
"We would remind people not to give personal details over the phone or to engage with cold callers. If an offer is made which appears too good to be true, then it probably is."
For advice contact Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.
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by Bill the builder, Swansea
Wednesday, June 30 2010, 1:04AM
“As horrible as these scams are the victim is also a victim of his own greed.
these scams can only work on the greedy, if I received a telephone call claiming I was owed money by the bank I would request an appointment with my bank manager to discuss it further, to ensure it isn't an error and I'm not commiting fraud by accepting it”
by Peter, Swansea
Tuesday, June 29 2010, 7:58PM
“Oh dear Heather - you really need to engage your brain before hitting the keyboard - what exactly do you expect BT to do? Do you want every call monitored so BT can check on its content? I suggest that unless you can find someone to monitor what you write before you hit the send button, I would give up sending your opinions for all of us to read and cringe at.”
by Huw, ammanford.
Tuesday, June 29 2010, 5:40PM
“You'll have noticed that people are only duped when they believe they are going to benefit financially. The old guy was told his bank had over charged him and that the company could ''get the money'' back.
Investment scams only work because they rely on peoples greed.
I lend money to people in third world countries and if they can't pay it back I just write if off and wish them well. That means I don't suffer and neither do they.”
by Plop, Swansea
Tuesday, June 29 2010, 3:12PM
“This is sad but I find it hard to sympathise. You're supposed to get wiser as you get older not more stupid. I suspect this person would have fallen for the scam no matter what age he'd been. I'm sorry but being old and vulnerable has nothing to do with this. My grandmother is 96, read this story and said "he must be a bit simple".”
by John, castell nedd
Tuesday, June 29 2010, 11:59AM
“Most of these scams involve someone who¿s out to make a quick buck. IE you¿ve won the Spanish lottery, when you haven¿t even bought a ticket. As they say there¿s no fool like an old fool.”