Fraudsters pose as cops to con elderly victims
‘COWARDLY’ GANG ROBBING TARGETS OF THEIR SAVINGS
It is a despicable crime and cowardly. We will do everything to catch them. DI Ed Cook
CON artists pretending to be police officers are making elderly people withdraw thousands of pounds from their bank accounts and hand it over to them.
A team of detectives from Nottinghamshire Police are working at identifying the ‘cowardly’ gang robbing elderly victims of their savings.
The fraudsters have taken around £10,000 from the county’s elderly and even made them spend the withdrawn cash on jewellery at nearby stores, which they then take.
The elaborate scheme has been used in Clifton, Retford and Ravenshead, with up to 10 incidents already reported to the police.
The scheme begins with the caller pretending he is a police officer and that the elderly person’s bank account has been compromised.
They are then told to go to their bank, withdraw a large sum of cash, which can be up to £4,000, and then a courier will come to their home, or close by, to collect the cash.
They tell the elderly person their money will be much safer with the police than with the bank, even asking them to invest in expensive jewellery so they have an asset.
Detective Inspector Ed Cook told the Post that police would never ask anyone to withdraw money from their account and pass it on to them.
He said: “This is a real concern for us. We have had an increase in reports in Nottinghamshire over the last two weeks, criminals pretending to be police officers and conning elderly victims with a variety of stories telling them their bank account is compromised.
“They ask them to go into their bank, take out large sums of money and then hand over the cash outside. We have had someone give over £4,000.
“We would like to think we would not fall for it but they are convincing and target elderly victims. A police officer would never ask people to disclose bank details or withdraw and hand over money.”
DI Cook said there had been around 10 reports, and two or three incidents where victims had handed over the money.
He added: “We have had them ask the victim to go purchase something such as they need them to go into a jewellery shop and buy an expensive watch.
“They will say ‘your money is not safe and that item will keep it safe.’”
Descriptions of the offenders are not complete, with the only information so far is that one is a black male and the other is a young Asian man.
They have not been seen in police uniforms but in normal clothing.
Police are now checking CCTV in the area to get a better view of them.
“From our previous experience working with other forces in the region they work on a national basis and they will move to areas of the region and now it is Nottinghamshire,” DI Cook added.
“It is the financial impact and the emotional impact. It is a despicable crime and cowardly. We will identify who they are. We will do everything to catch them.”
Fraud and Cyber Protect Officer Fiona Price, who works for the police, added: “We are keen to let the public know and urge friends and family to spread the word about these scam tactics, so they aren’t a victim.
“A real police officer would never call a member of the public asking them to disclose personal or financial information and then instruct them to take immediate financial action.
“If you receive a call you’re not sure about, always insist on verifying the caller’s identity.
“If you’re calling them back, use a number known to be connected to the organisation in question, not the one provided by the caller. For the police, it’s 101 and make sure you insist on talking to the named officer.
“Make this call from a separate telephone line to the one that the call was received, if you can. If you don’t have one, wait at least 10 minutes before calling on the same line.
“Please continue to spread the word ensuring elderly or vulnerable loved ones and neighbours are aware of these types of scams.”
AFTER 13 years of waking up the county, BBC Radio Nottingham’s Andy Whittaker is finally looking forward to a lie-in as his role is about to change.
The stalwart radio host has been doing breakfast shows on the airwaves for 26-and-a-half years - at other BBC stations before his time in Nottingham - making him the longest-serving breakfast presenter in BBC local radio.
Andy first started waking up Nottinghamshire in 2007 with wake up calls at 3.45am throughout his career.
But tomorrow he’ll be moving to cover the afternoon drivetime show instead.
“It’s the end of an era for me personally as I’ve never really known anything else,” Andy told the Post.
“The thing I’m most looking forward to is not having that alarm go off.
“I made it fit around my life and worked with it and I think that’s why I have been able to do it for so long. A lot of people can’t stomach it more than a couple of years.
“I’m proud of it but I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been great fun to be dealing with the forefront of whatever is going on at that time.”
Andy says a key part of the show is building a relationship with his audience who get to know him over time each morning.
He added: “It’s not just what about I think but also what listeners think. We go through it together. You have to enjoy the person you’re listening to so I’m really humbled that they do.”
Andy’s highlights in his time on the breakfast show includes The Big Night Out which was set up to encourage people who felt the city was not safe to come out and experience it.
He said: “Nottingham, when I first started, had a pretty bad reputation.
“People in the city had started to worry it was not safe place to be. My experience of Nottingham was nothing like that, it was a vibrant busy city. It wasn’t just about drinking, it was culture, theatre, entertainment.
“We got bars, restaurants, cinemas, theatres all involved to do special deals so people could come and try them. It was massive. Thousands of people joined in, most of them hadn’t been out in the city for years at night.
“It was so successful we did two a year for five or six years all as part of the effort to try to change the image of the city at night.
“That’s probably the thing I’m most proud of. A lot of people still mention that to me now.”
The radio host has interviewed thousands of guests over the years. One highlight was speaking to a young boy with leukaemia looking for a bone marrow donor.
“I set up a session at the Council House where people could come and join the bone marrow donor register.
“He did find a match but sadly it wasn’t fast enough. But so many people joined the register due to him, and lives have been saved as a result of that event.”
While big interviews Andy has carried out on the airwaves include Rod Stewart, the greatest interest he gets is speaking to everyday people who have a story to tell.
“It’s not just about being on the radio, it’s about doing something beyond that which affects the community that you serve that are listening to you.”
You can tune in to Andy’s new show from 2-6pm.