Police warning after cruel scammers con Bourne man out of £3,000

Cruel conmen have scammed £3,000 from a devastated man in Bourne, police have warned.

The distraught victim gave the heartless crooks the large amount of money after receiving a fake HMRC tax email.

As a result police and Action Fraud have now stepped up urgent warnings to people not to be swindled by email or telephone scammers.

Inspector Ian Martin, of Stamford Police, said the Bourne victim was singled out by the ruthless villains by both email and phone.

“The victim replied to the email.

“He then spoke to them on the telephone.

“They obtained sufficient information from him to obtain £3,000 from his bank account,” he said.

Insp Martin urged the public to be extra vigilant in case they were targeted by criminals.

“If you are contacted out of the blue by a bank, HMRC, bailiff, or any other agency or department then please do not reply or provide them with information.

“These scammers use very convincing phrases to try to get you to part with your information,” he said.

“The simplest advice I can give you is to hang up wthe phone or delete the email.

“That way your information is safe.”

Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, has also backed up Insp Martin’s plea to people to be on their guard against cyber conmen.

“Victims are contacted in a variety of methods by fraudsters claiming to be from the HMRC and are told they owe an outstanding debt.

“In some cases they ask for payment in iTunes gift card voucher codes.

“Fraudsters like iTunes gift cards to collect money from victims because they can be easily redeemed and easily sold on,” said an Action Fraud spokesman.

“The scammers don’t need the physical card to redeem the value and instead get victims to read out the serial code on the back over the phone.”

He said fraudsters also use spoof calls, voicemails and texts in a bid to plunder unsuspecting victims.

“Telephone numbers and text messages can easily be spoofed,” said the spokesman.

“If you receive a suspicious cold call from anybody then end it immediately.”