Pensioner’s phone scam warning (From Daily Echo)

Voucher scammers target man in Chandler's Ford

3:00pm Thursday 9th February 2012 in News

A pensioner from Chandler’s Ford has warned people to beware after he was targeted in the latest telephone scam.

The 68-year-old retired chartered accountant, who the Daily Echo is not naming, was targeted but quickly smelt a rat.

Fraudsters are making unsolicited phone calls to people promising cash in a lottery or sweepstake win or benefit refund.

The fraudsters pretend to be bank officials, working for a Government body, or lottery representatives.

They phone victims, persuade them to go out and buy a cash voucher and then in a later phone call get them to pass over the voucher’s serial number.

The victims are promised personal delivery of a cheque. But once the scammer has the voucher number, they are never heard from again.

Seventeen incidents have been reported in the past four months across Hampshire.

The man said: “They were quite plausible at first and quite persistent. They said I was eligible for a benefit refund and quoted reference numbers and promised £3,750 but said I had to pay £120 for a cash voucher, as tax.

“The caller had an English name, Alex Matthew, but spoke with an Indian accent.

“The second flag was that he said he would round the figure down from £124 to £120 and the Inland Revenue would never round it down. And who pays tax on benefits?

“They also said their cheque would clear in the bank in an hour. It is usually three days.

“The warning bells started to ring and I realised it was scam. But people have got to be alert, they are plausible.”

Anyone who receives a suspicious call should call Consum-er Direct on 08454 04 05 06.