Ruthless and heartless scumbags target vulnerable man in phone scam spending £4k on his bank cards

Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Friday 21st February 2025, at 13:00hrs

An elderly man handed over his cards thinking he was helping an investigation but was defrauded out of over £4k from his bank account

Ruthless and heartless fraudsters have targeted a vulnerable man in a phone call scam pretending to be Police Officers investigating fraudulent activity on the victims card.

An investigation is now underway to identify the culprits.

In a statement released today, Lancashire Police said:

“We wanted to tell you about a really callous scam committed against a pensioner in Darwen so you can hopefully warn your family members, friends and neighbours about it.

On 3rd February a man in his 70s was contacted by someone pretending to be from their bank and has told the victim that the money in his account has been compromised. The suspect has then told the victim to place his bank cards into an envelope and hand them over to someone from ‘the bank’, who will come to collect them from his home address.

The victim has handed the cards over and later checked his account to see that £4,000 had been spent.

We’re sure you’ll agree that this was an appalling crime committed against a vulnerable victim who thought he was helping with a fraud investigation and protecting his money. However, he was actually dealing with ruthless and heartless criminals who were engaging in a sophisticated scam.

Please can you read the following crime prevention advice and share it with anyone you think needs to be aware of it.

• Your bank or the police will never call you asking for personal details such as Pin no’s or offer to pick up cards or items from your address

• Consider registering with a Telephone Preference Service to stop unsolicited calls / marketing calls making their way through

• If you are in the slightest doubt during a phone call, hang up – either use a different phone or wait 20 minutes before calling either your bank, Action Fraud or the police. This is because Fraudsters often leave the line open waiting for you to use the phone so the safest method is using a different device

• Install a call blocker -these can be done through phone companies /through phone applications

• If you feel worried or concerned about a call – alert someone you trust and tell them.

• We would ask anyone who is concerned about this type of contact to report this into Action Fraud online – or via 0300 123 2040 or contact the police on 101.”