Black Country man arrested after woman, 84, conned out of thousands of pounds

The 44-year-old from Wednesbury was among three arrested as part of a week of action against telephone fraud.

He was detained on suspicion of fraud and money laundering after an 84-year-old woman was conned out of thousands of pounds.

The victim from Nuneaton had a call from someone claiming to be from the police instructing her to transfer money in November last year.

The suspect was arrested on August 4 and has since been bailed.

And on Thursday, a 25-year-old man from Birmingham was arrested on suspicion of fraud.

This was in connection with an incident in April where a woman in Warwick received a call from someone claiming to be a high court sheriff who told her that she owed money to the court and that it needed to be transferred into a bank account.

She was defrauded out of several hundred pounds. The suspect has been released under investigation while inquiries continue.

And on Friday a 21-year-old man from Coventry was arrested on suspicion of fraud in connection with an incident in January where efforts were made to defraud a woman from Bulkington out of several thousand pounds.

She was called by a man claiming to be from Natwest urging her to transfer money from her account. The woman realised it was a scam and reported it. The suspect has been released under investigation while inquiries continue.

Detective Sergeant Paul Hainsworth from the Warwickshire Police Economic Crime Unit explained this type of offence is becoming more prevalent and the offenders getting more convincing: “These types of criminals typically target vulnerable people and they can sound extremely convincing. Victims are understandably concerned.

“Recently, we have been supporting the ‘Take Five’ initiative which urges people to do just that; if you feel something isn’t right, take five minutes to consider whether a situation is genuine.

“Criminals will often pressure people to act on the spot whereas legitimate callers will have no problem with you taking your time and carrying out relevant checks.”