Dear reader,
You say your father refused to accept that he had been a victim of fraud until you showed him similar tales of deception from this column.
The truth was that he was so far down the rabbit hole with these scammers that wrenching himself back to reality was going to be very painful.
The perpetrators won your father’s implicit trust by purporting to be the police, reeling him into their world of lies with an intoxicating concoction of flattery and fear.
In a wild departure from his usual quiet life, the conmen had him out on “secret missions” that bore more resemblance to James Bond films than his usual activities.
After picking them up at a local hospital, your father drove the fraudsters to the bullion vault he believed was being run by hardened criminals.
He was terrified, you say, as he was led deeper and darker down into the vault, where the bars were being stored, while the “police” waited round the corner.
There was also an evening where the fraudsters wanted to meet up but claimed they were “unable to find” his house.
They suggested your father drove to a car park instead to meet them there, but your father refused, saying he’d had a couple of glasses of whisky and might be over the drink drive limit.
The fraudsters replied with “police orders”, stating he had been authorised to bypass the rules. Your father was told to get in the car and drive, which despite his usually sensible and law abiding character, he duly did.
Your father, a grieving widower with hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and in a suggestible mind frame, was highly vulnerable to a scam of this sort.
It occurs to me that by entering this fantasy land, in which he was an integral part of a seemingly important mission, the fraudsters offered him a welcome escape from the reality of having to face the day-to-day emptiness of life without your mother, which proved irresistible.
You have taken a slightly harsher stance, as you believe your father deserves a good rollicking after swallowing such a load of utter codswallop. And I am sure some people reading this will agree with you.
Whatever the case, we were both in agreement that the banks involved seemed to have failed miserably to protect your father just at the moment when he needed it most.
When I asked HSBC about this it said “extra care” was taken when your father withdrew cash from the branch, as its system noted he’d previously been a target for another attempted scam in which someone tried to move money out of his account.
It said he was questioned about the purpose of the withdrawal, and there was a discussion about scams.
Your father apparently stated that he had not received any telephone calls asking him to withdraw the cash. The cashier noted that he was calm throughout the exchange.
Newcastle Building Society didn’t offer any explanation about why it let your dad purchase £50,000 of gold bullion by cheque.
Happily, Newcastle Building Society and HSBC have both now agreed to refund your father’s £69,000 in full.
A Newcastle Building Society spokesman said: “Having now had further discussions with the customer and the police, we have confirmed that we will be reimbursing him and have explained the process and timeline for this.”
An HSBC UK spokesman said: “Scammers are devious criminals who use a range of techniques to steal money from people without any concern for the mental or financial wellbeing of their victims.
We are sorry to hear that this customer has been the victim of a scam. We have thoroughly reviewed the matter and, while there was no error by HSBC UK, we have taken into account his vulnerable circumstances and have provided a full refund.”
Your father wrote me a lovely email to thank me for retrieving his money, for which he is extremely grateful.
The police are currently investigating his case and have apparently managed to track down some CCTV footage of the perpetrators. Fingerprints from your father’s car have also been taken.
You feel relieved that this ordeal is over, but before you completely relax, I’ve warned you of the high likelihood that these conmen will come back for another bite of the cherry.
You’ve installed a Truecaller device on your father’s phone to filter out rogue calls, but beware that they may try to get to him via other means, such as emails, letters and by turning up at his house under a different guise.
Following my advice you’re talking to a lawyer about possible power of attorney action, which could be wise under the circumstances. I wish you both the best of luck.
