OAP outsmarts con artist... who claimed to kidnap his dead wife

IT was a chilling call that would terrify most people. But when pensioner Ronald Sim was told his wife had been kidnapped, he knew it was a scam.

And he quickly shut the con man down – by pointing out she had been dead for years.

Retired dentist Mr Sim, 71, said: ‘This voice from the Indian sub-continent said, “Is this Mr Sim? ... we’ve kidnapped your wife”.

‘I said, “It must have been pretty hard for you because she died nine years ago”. The phone went dead.

‘My son was in Germany at the time and if they had said, “We’ve kidnapped your son”, my reactions could have been different.’

Mr Sim, of Cornhill, Aberdeenshire, got the call this month. Police are investigating. He said: ‘When I tell people, the first thing they do is laugh – then think through the consequences, if it was their mum or dad.

‘I’ve had hundreds of cold callers. I often have a bit of fun with them – at their expense – with a Doric accent. But this one, I thought I should let it be known.’

The scam is the latest in a series of cons across the region. Highlands patients were this month warned to be wary of calls selling warranties for home-monitoring equipment.

A police spokesman said: ‘We would remind the public to always be on their guard.’