Woman, 87, loses £7,000 in courier fraud scam

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 12:14 · Archive

An 87-year-old woman in Peterborough was scammed out of £7,000 in a courier fraud scheme.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary have launched an investigation after an 87-year-old woman was scammed out of £7,000 in a courier fraud scheme. Ely Standard reports that the Peterborough woman received a landline call on 12 October from a man claiming to be a Cambridgeshire police officer. He told her that a man had been arrested for theft and found with counterfeit money, and that £7,000 had been taken from her account but later returned. He instructed her to stay on the line while he connected her to her bank.

A female caller then claimed to be from the bank and confirmed the officer's story. The fraudster told her to withdraw £7,000 for the investigation and keep the reason from bank staff. She was told to take the money home, where someone would collect it using the code word 'orange 123'. A man later arrived at her door, gave the code word, and took the envelope of cash. The woman later realised she had been scammed and the money was gone.

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed on 21 October that the investigation is ongoing. The force urged people to be vigilant and look out for vulnerable neighbours and relatives. In a statement, police said: 'Remember, neither the police nor your bank will ever call and ask you to withdraw money as part of an investigation. If in doubt, hang up and call police on 101 from another line to check before you act.'

How it is being reported

• Cambs woman, 87, scammed out of £7,000 as police launch investigationCambridgeshire Constabulary have launched an investigation after an 87-year-old woman was scammed out of £7,000 in a courier fraud scheme.Ely Standard · 21 Oct, 11:24
• Cambs woman, 87, scammed out of £7,000 as police launch investigationCambridgeshire Constabulary have launched an investigation after an 87-year-old woman was scammed out of £7,000 in a courier fraud scheme.Cambs Times · 21 Oct, 11:24

In this story: Peterborough · Cambridgeshire Constabulary · Cambridgeshire Police

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