Elderly King's Lynn man loses thousands in cold caller scam

An elderly man has lost thousands of pounds after he was targeted by scammers in Lynn.

Police are urging residents to be vigilant to cold callers claiming to be police officers following the incident, which happened on Thursday afternoon (February 20).

The man, of Dodman’s Close, received a telephone call from a man claiming to be a detective.

The caller told the victim, aged in his 90s, that his bank was being investigated and as part of police enquiries, the victim needed to withdraw £6,000 in cash.

The victim was told the money would then be collected the following day and taken for testing to see if it was fake.

He withdrew the cash on Friday (February 21) and returned home where later that afternoon a man purporting to be a courier collected the money, using a codeword agreed in the original cold call.

PC Lee Anderton, local engagement officer, said: "This is sadly a common method used by fraudsters to encourage vulnerable victims to withdraw large sums of money from their accounts.

"Genuine police officers or staff would never approach residents and ask for cash withdrawals to be made or for people to purchase items on their behalf.

"I would ask people with vulnerable relatives, friends or neighbours to make sure they are aware of this type of scam.”

Officers have the following advice:

• Never give out personal information about your bank account to anybody over the phone.

• If someone calls claiming to be a police officer, ask for their identification number and police force. Hang up and call 101 using a different phone. If you can't use a different phone, wait at least five minutes before calling back. A genuine police officer will not mind waiting while you check.

• Police and banks will never ask you to give out personal details such as account numbers or PIN numbers.

• If you have given out information which could compromise your bank account security in any way, call your bank to cancel your cards as soon as possible.

• Never hand over money to someone at the door to be sent off elsewhere.

Anyone with concerns about such calls should contact Norfolk Constabulary on the non-emergency number 101 or 999 if a crime is in progress. Alternatively, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.