Warning as woman is conned out of £3,000 (From Ledbury Reporter)
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Warning as woman is conned out of £3,000
5:49pm Tuesday 20th March 2012 in News
AN elderly Malvern woman was conned out of nearly £3,000 by a man claiming to be from her phone company who said she needed to pay her bill in Ukash vouchers in return for prizes.
Now police are reminding people to be wary of calls from companies offering large prizes in exchange for Ukash vouchers.
The 83-year-old was contacted last December by a man who asked her to pay £50 for her yearly landline bill.
PC Kathryn Curtis said: "The victim was asked to pay her bill using Ukash vouchers. It was explained that she could go to any shop with a PayPoint, pay the £50 and then she would receive a Ukash voucher to that value.
"The victim was then requested to return the call and read out the voucher number. The man who called her was able to use the voucher number anywhere in the world. He continued to make phone calls over a two-month period and told the victim she would receive prizes and a large amount of money in return. However, the woman handed over thousands of pounds and has never received anything back."
Although Ukash is a genuine company, it - as well as other money transfer companies - is often used by conmen to obtain funds deceitfully. Ukash says its vouchers should only be used at genuine merchants listed on their website and that people should never give Ukash details via email or telephone.
"Unfortunately, it is usually the elderly and vulnerable who are targeted in these types of scams," said PC Curtis. "Often it is impossible to trace the conmen involved in these crimes as the offenders are from overseas. However, we have managed to trace the phone number to an address in the UK and the police force which covers that part of the country is now investigating.
"I have also been able to secure £300 from the West Mercia Police Community Fund to help this lady out."
Anyone suspecting a scam by phone should contact their bank and trading standards. Police can also be informed on 0300 333 3000.
Comments(3)
Busymum2011
says...
10:35pm Tue 20 Mar 12
Lord Newbold
says...
9:52am Wed 21 Mar 12
What you say is perfectly truthful “You Cannot Trust Anyone These Days” Unfortunately, for the caller, neither do I, however, I have found over the years if you keep them talking without revealing any particulars of a private nature eventually they hang up. I have stuck to the same reply for over 12 months now, and our pester calls have less and less.
“No matter what they ask we just say No we do not have one. We also ask them who give them this number because it is the municipal asylum, and the person they have asked for is not in at the moment.
We have never discovered who they are because they just hang up.”
We are of the opinion that when they see that they are paying for the call and getting nowhere they hang up.
Lord Newbold says...
9:38pm Tue 20 Mar 12
No matter what they ask we just say No we do not have one. We also ask them who give them this number because it is the municipal asylum, and the person they have asked for is not in at the moment.
We have never discovered who they are because they just hang up.