Herts fraud victim Elizabeth, 82, conned out of £250,000

Hertfordshire County Council Trading Standards has been supporting Citizens Advice's national campaign, as they ask residents to stay #ScamAware and protect themselves from manipulative financial fraudsters intent on stealing their hard-earned savings.

People in the UK lost £1.2 billion to fraud last year, which is equivalent to £2,300 every minute. Latest consumer research shows that four out of five of the top trader practices reported as scams involved someone purporting to offer investment and financial planning advice.

Elizabeth, 82 from Hertfordshire, knows only too well how devastating becoming a victim of this type of fraud can be.

She was ‘hypnotised’ and ‘groomed’ over an eight-week period and lost £250,000.

"He was so convincing in that very first phone call and made me distrust the bank entirely and had also made me so frightened — so I did what I was told," she said.

After reporting the fraud to police and her bank, the bank eventually reimbursed most of the money to Elizabeth.

Cllr Reena Ranger, deputy executive member for community safety at Herts County Council, said: “Aside from the financial impact on victims, national research has revealed the devastating effect of fraud and scams on mental and physical health.

"We work in partnership with our colleagues in Adult Care Services and other agencies such Hertfordshire Police, Citizens Advice and the voluntary sector, to tackle this sort of crime.

"We want our residents to understand how to report, without any feelings of blame or shame. Every scam is a fraud and every fraud is a crime, just because someone has been manipulated into transferring money or giving away personal details, doesn’t make it any less of a crime.

"I commend Elizabeth for telling her story in a bid to help others.”

Elizabeth's story: 'He was so convincing'

Here, Elizabeth bravely tells the full story in her own words.

“Back in May last year, I was telephoned out of the blue by a man who claimed to be a Head of Fraud at Barclays High Risk Fraud prevention team.

"He told me that someone was trying to steal money out of my account and that I should transfer sums to other dummy accounts that he had set up for me to split up my savings — I thought this sounded like a very clever idea.

"He was so convincing in that very first phone call and made me distrust the bank entirely and had also made me so frightened — so I did what I was told.

"This was the start of a horrendous eight weeks where I was groomed and hypnotised. I became someone I didn’t recognise and only trusted this man because of how he’d manipulated me, and no one else who had been in my life for years.

"I even ended up telling lies to my investment manager, the banks and the police, which is totally out of character for me.

“I wrote a diary everyday as the man, who I’ll call Tom, was in contact most days and became someone I considered a close friend. He would constantly give me new jobs to do. I was transferring money for building work on my house that wasn’t being done, I was transferring money via Western Union for one of his friends who was starting a new life in England, I was paying fake invoices for investments in properties by the coast.

"He had me sworn to secrecy and some days I was spending ten hours at a time either talking on the phone or running an errand.

“I paid about 16 invoices and made several transfers amounting to about £250,000. I was sent a mobile phone and a birthday cake, which with hindsight I can see was just another ploy to groom me into being this scammer's puppet.

"This man preyed on me and knew I lived alone. The things he learned about me helped him to utterly convince me that he was the only person I should be trusting.  

"There was even another individual who ended up speaking to me on the phone who had a Scottish accent and I was told he was a police inspector and that my investment manager, who had been looking after my money for the last 20 years, was evil and was up in court for fraud.

“It wasn’t until I spoke to my investment manager who phoned to set up our regular yearly review of my accounts that I realised he hadn’t been arrested and wasn’t in court.

"It was only then that I started to wonder if I had been scammed. I still didn’t want to believe it but eventually called the police who helped me get nearly all the money back from the banks.

“I want to speak out about my experience, so others don’t fall into the same trap as me. It’s taken courage to tell this story as I feel embarrassed and ashamed that I could have trusted this man so completely.”

Elizabeth reported the matter to the police via Action Fraud and to her bank.

The bank reimbursed most of the money to Elizabeth, recognising that she was a victim of a complex Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud. However, it was an anxious time waiting for that decision to be made.

Every year, around 200,000 people become victims of APP fraud — a type of scam which sees people deceived into sending a payment to someone who is not who they claim to be.

Fraudsters often pose as the victim’s own bank or even as members of their family.

Hertfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards team are offering advice to Hertfordshire residents on the best ways to protect themselves from investment and financial frauds.

Top five tips:

1. Don’t give out personal details: Your bank will never ask you for your PIN or ask you to transfer money to other accounts. Hang up and call your bank using the number on the back of your bank card. Or call 159. This is a secure service that connects you directly with your bank. Remember that fraudsters can keep your phone line open even after you've hung up, use a different phone or wait 10 minutes for any connection to break.

2. Use an answerphone: You can use an answerphone on your landline or voicemail on your mobile to screen your calls.

3. Stay calm: If you get calls offering you investments or access to your pension, don’t feel rushed or pressured to respond and be very wary of acting straight away.

4. Don’t commit: Always seek advice from trusted friends or family members before making decisions.

5. Stop the call: If you feel pressured or if the caller won’t take no for an answer, end the conversation. Don’t be embarrassed to put the phone down.

What should I do if I think I've been scammed?

Protect yourself from further risks: Contact your bank to tell them, stop the payment if possible, cancel your card, cancel further payments.

Contact the police: If you feel threatened or if you're in immediate danger, call 999.

Report the scam: Contact Action Fraud to report a fraud on 0300 123 2040.

Ask for help: If you think you are victim contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.