Hartlepool Council Trading Standards Officers are warning the public about the dangers of unsolicited phone calls, after one local resident lost several thousands of pounds to a telephone fraudster.
The elderly woman was convinced into paying £7,000 for services that she did not need – and she was asked to pay via iTune vouchers to provide quick payment. The vouchers are also virtually untraceable as a form of payment.
Hartlepool Trading Standards say iTune vouchers can be purchased by cash from various local retailers and the unique codes printed on these cards can then be re-sold via the Internet for the card’s face value.
In this case, the iTune codes were given to the scammer and would then be sold to the general public via popular re-sale websites – essentially converting the codes back to cash.
Senior Trading Standards Officer with Hartlepool Council, Rachael Readman, said:
“This is a callous attack on a vulnerable pensioner who has been preyed upon by heartless strangers – who care for nothing other than making money.
“This case also is a reminder of how careful people must be when they receive unsolicited phone calls.
“Scammers can seem extremely believable and will invent stories designed to build trust and confidence in them.
“In addition, the victim will often be told that their friends can no longer be trusted and that they should not discuss financial matters with them – this keeps the scam a secret and allows it to go on long enough for money to be obtained.
“This particular incident is not unique and similar scams have involved payment via high profile web-based organisations.
“Sadly, as the transferring of money has become more convenient, it has also become more dangerous for the unwary – extremely large sums of money can be lost forever very quickly.
“Our advice would always be to hang up on cold callers and never provide financial or personal details.”
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