Thousands stolen from elderly West Norfolk man in suspected phone scam
An elderly West Norfolk man has had thousands of pounds stolen after being targeted in a suspected phone scam.
Last Thursday a man in his 80s from North Wootton received a phone call on his landline from a man who said he was a police officer.
The man claimed to be investigating the theft of a sum of money from the victim’s account using a cloned card.
He told the victim the stolen money had been replaced with counterfeit money, and advised him to call the number on the back of his bank card for further assistance quoting a fictitious reference number.
Police say the victim was then tricked into revealing further details about his bank accounts and instructed to withdraw £4,000.
He was told to put the “counterfeit” notes into a large envelope that was collected by a courier later that day.
The courier is described as being of Asian appearance, 6ft 2ins, slim build, clean shaven and wearing a white polo shirt, blue tracksuit trousers and white trainers.
Police are keen to hear from anyone who may have received a similar type of telephone call or have any information about the incident.
They should contact Det Con Sam Harris at Lynn CID on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Officers are warning residents to be vigilant following the incident, and have reminded them that neither your bank nor the police will ever ask you to withdraw money or purchase items.
They also offer the following advice:
- Your bank or the police will never ask for your PIN, bank card or bank account details over the phone – never give these details to anybody
- Neither the police nor the banks will send a courier to collect money from you
- Always request photo ID and if unsure call the police
- If asked to call a bank, do it on a different phone to the one you were contacted on
- Never download software suggested by a caller
- Do not rush into complying to demands/requests.
