ONE of the victims of a fraud operation targeting the elderly in South Cumbria has spoken out about her ‘frightening’ experience.

Criminals have now fraudulently taken more than £30,000 from elderly victims.

One of the victims, an 86-year-old woman, told her story: “I’d just come back from the hairdressers and the phone kept ringing - I didn’t want to answer it but it kept going. When I did speak to them they asked me if I could help because they said they had a man in custody who had 14 different bank cards and that one of them was mine.

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“I did tell them I had not lost mine but they told me that they were the fraud line and that the bank workers were in on it, that they were involved.

“They gave me a name and a police number and I asked if I could call Barrow police, so I tried to do that and a lady answered the phone and said it was OK to go ahead with it. They told me not to put the phone down though so they were on the line from around 12.30pm until around midnight, and they kept ringing on it.

“In the afternoon they asked me to go and get some money from the bank, they asked for £9,260. They told me if anyone asked what I was doing with it in the bank to tell them I was decorating and buying furniture, because the bank were part of the scam.

“When I got home I was worried it was a scam, but then the phone rang again and the people told me that they had arrested the security officer at the bank and also the lady that I had spoken to. They told me they would pick the money up from my house and they’d have to come in and get some fingerprints.

“I thought that was a bit strange and decided that I would not give the money over, and I managed to get hold of my neighbour who came round and spoke to those on the phone. She was told that she had to leave the house because she was stopping police from doing their work. The man did come to collect the money but he just left when he was told I wouldn’t give the money to him. That was really lucky and it is scary to think what he could have done.

“We called 999 from a different phone and the police came round and explained that the police would never ask for money.

“I am coping with it now and am thankful for my daughters and neighbours and friends who are looking after me, but I am still very frightened and upset. I am obviously very lucky that I didn’t lose any money because I know other people have. Deep down I did not want to believe them, but you do not think it would happen to you. I hope this makes everyone aware that it can, because I do not want anyone else to be in this situation or to lose their money.”

Police would like to re-iterate the advice to hang up the phone immediately if you receive a call like this and never provide any personal details. The police would never ask you to hand over or transfer money.  To contact the police dial 101 from a different phone to that which the caller has phoned you on.