Elderly man fleeced in phone scam

The victim withdrew his money and transferred it abroad

An elderly man has been conned out of nearly £10,000 in a telephone scam in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

The victim, aged 85, from Athersley, was told he had won more than £100,000 in a prize draw in Eastern Europe.

He was told that in order to release the cash, he had to pay expenses. To do that, he had to give his bank details.

Pc Vincent Formosa of Barnsley police said it was difficult to catch the culprits because there was no bank trail to follow.

Bank warning

Pc Formosa said: "When he [the victim] went to the bank he was warned by staff at bank this sounded like a fraud.

"But he was not persuaded enough and withdrew the money and transferred it to these people."

Police revealed the elderly man got a phone call "out of the blue" telling him he had won the second prize in a draw and would collect a large sum of money which was being held in Canada.

He was instructed to send the "fee" via money transfer through Western Union to Eastern Europe.