AN ARREST has been made after an elderly Warwick man was targeted by a courier fraud scam.
The 84-year-old received a number of calls last week from someone claiming to be a detective constable from the Metropolitan Police in London. The caller told the victim his cards had been cloned and there were concerns over his bank accounts.
He was asked to provide his account numbers and to withdraw around £6,000 to give to a courier for safe keeping.
The fraudster told the victim to call 999 and speak to Leamington Police to verify the call was genuine, and also gave him a password the courier would say upon collecting the cash.
However, the concerned resident contacted the Metropolitan Police who in turn contacted Warwickshire Police. An investigation was launched and officers arrested the courier, a 54-year-old man from Coventry, when he turned up at the victim’s address on Friday (October 16). He was arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation and has been released under investigation.
Det Insp Rich Brown said: “Thankfully the victim in this case did not lose any money but sadly this has not been the case for some other victims, who have lost significant amounts of money as fraudsters continue to prey on individuals, particularly the elderly and the vulnerable.
“The fraudsters’ stories are often believable and they will put a lot of pressure on victims to convince them to withdraw or transfer money, often for fraud reasons.
“We still believe that specific areas are being targeted in which the fraudsters will contact several people in a given area and then get a courier to wait close by in their vehicle ready to collect cash once the victim has withdrawn it.
“Please also think about your loved ones and neighbours and make sure they know how to avoid scams such as these. We will not tolerate crimes of this nature, which can have devastating impacts on victims who are often left feeling scared and worried that their home is no longer safe, which is why we will do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice.”
He is also urging anyone who sees an unrecognised and suspicious vehicle in their area to report the incident to 101.
