Elderly Sawtry woman conned out of cash by someone claiming to be relation as police issue scam warning

An elderly Sawtry woman was conned out of cash after scammers claimed they were related to her.

Police said the woman was contacted by an unknown number via text message, by someone claiming to be a family member whose phone had broken so they were borrowing a friend’s.

The victim was told to call another number, which connected to the suspects, who said they were bailiffs. They said the family member owed them money, but as their phone had broken the victim needed to pay on their behalf.

In the meantime, text messages continued between the victim and the phony family member.

In another, similar case in St Neots, scammers called an elderly woman on her landline and claimed to be from the police. They said her bank account had been compromised so she needed to withdraw all her money and hand it over to them for safekeeping.

This initial phone call was then followed by a call to the victim’s mobile phone, as she made her way from her home to the bank, to ensure she didn’t talk to anyone about what she was doing.

Arrangements were then made for the suspects to meet the victim and take the cash.

Now police are urging residents to remain vigilant to ensure they don’t fall victim to similar cons.

Cyber and fraud prevention officer David York, from Cambridgshire Police said: “These crimes often have a devastating impact on the health and wellbeing of the victims and their families.

“We urge residents to please be vigilant to this and pass the message on so others can be vigilant too.”

Tips to avoid becoming a victim

Cambridgeshire Police said there were a number of tips people can follow to avoid falling victim to scams:

A spokesperson said: “Please remember your bank and the police will never:

Ask for your bank account details or PIN over the phone

Ask you to withdraw money and hand it over to them

Ask you to send them your bank cards or any other personal property

Also remember:

If you receive a message from an unknown number claiming to be a family member, pause and check in on their usual number before proceeding.”