UKC

Mam called to say that a detective had been to her house tonight, after calling her on the phone.  Told her that her mobile number had somehow been involved in some kind of instagram / football scam.  

Apparently he had called her first, knew her address (somehow), then visited later on (about 9pm).  She's asked him if her was the person who had called earlier and he said no, that was someone else and he was on the night shift.

So alarm bells are going already.  She's very vague on what he was talking about (she's getting on a bit). She invited him in, then for some reason saw fit to give him my name and address. (not sure why).  asked if she had taken his name, but she can't remember.  He had an ID card around his neck which she took as absolute proof he was a police officer.  He didn't leave a card

I've asked her to look up the number he called her on, and it was with held.

It's obviously some con-man **** *** ** ** *** ** praying on pensioners.

I've called 101 and spoken to Northumbria Police and they have no record of her address being visited, but they're going to investigate further and call me back tomorrow.

So what to be wary of now?

I've asked her to try and remember what else was said, what other details were given but now she's stressed and upset and can't remember.  

I've asked her if he left her sight and went into any other room (or if anyone else followed her and walked around the house).  She's adamant that didnt' happen

I'm pretty worried that some ** ** ** **  now has my name and address, and I'm going to be the victim of some kind of identity hack.  I've asked her very carefully if she gave them any other info like date of birth, and she's fairly sure she didn't...but I'm not 100% convinced

Is there any way I can check with credit agencies to see if anyone is trying to do anything dodgy in my name?

Awful. I recently had an elderly relative scammed for hundreds in tripe warranties, subscriptions and such. I don't know if identity theft should be your primary worry though?

Edit: I actually don't think you can do the freeze method in the UK as easily as we can in the US.

I'm getting family members from the area to visit and keep an eye (I live 200 miles away).  I'm just thinking of all possible things this scum bag could be thinking of

It's the fact she volunteered my name and address, and he wrote it down. that has me worried..

Well done getting police involved. Suggest also calling her bank's fraud line, and yours as well to make them aware. Also report to Experian's fraud support team https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/identity/what-to-do-if-victim.html?gcli...

Also if you can get around her neighbours and see if anyone has a doorbell camera that might have caught him/vehicle arriving or going

Ease up on your mother it’s not all her fault,  as you say she is getting on, and will feel silly and foolish if she has been had , it’s support she will need,, ( you may not be best placed )  I have no doubt that you are well meaning. 

Ask her to check for her purse, cards, keys, or other small possessions. If she left to room to make a tea for him or if he used the toilet, he could have pinched something.

A lot of phone scams will ask the victim to do a bank transfer, as they can get more money that way. Going to someone's house, is low tech and a high risk for the scroat. You're right to be concerned about your details, perhaps she gave them as she hoped you'd be able to sort it all out with the 'police man'. But I'd be more worried about if they come back, as they've been let in before.

Perhaps add some well placed and obvious cameras, to the front and back of the house, with off site storage. Maybe change the locks to be on the safe side. Ask her to say 'No' to any police, builders, gas / water / electricity people who may want to gain entry.

You'd think he'd take or scam on the first visit. Surely they wouldn't risk going back. So has anything been taken? Or might they try a break in now they've seen the setup?

Remember, if you catch them: the laws on their side if you hurt them. Know any pig farmers?

I think I'm going to go up there in the morning to see her.  I've told her to say no to any cold caller in future, whether it's gas / electric / fire / police - anything, and to get them to call me if they need anything. but I'll try and reinforce it tomorrow.

She's of the generation where you instinctively trust anyone who says they are a policeman.

I wish I could catch the k**t.  Right now I would gladly do serious time for him.

Ref my other thread, silly scams, this is not silly at all, its horrible. 

Hope your mum is OK. 

Sorry to hear this. Must be really worrying.

I have no expertise in this at all, but I'd worry about her house being secure before anything else. Sounds like they might have been trying to suss out the place, but I could be wrong. Seems weird for them to physically go there otherwise-?

Cameras and neighbours checking in etc sound sensible. 

Hope the Police can give you some better advice though, and that your mum and you are OK.

Clearscore Protect will check the Dark Web to see if any of your data is being used. Every 3 months they will let you know their results. I don't know how thorough it is as I think it's only to do with stolen passwords associated with your email account but it's something...and it's free! Here's the link explaining it....

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.clearscore.com/learn/protect/what-...

on reading what it says in the above link I think they will also check for  other things like address, NI number, Driving Licence details etc, etc for a small fee every month.

 The main thing though is to check your credit report for any new credit applications and searches etc.

Hope this helps. 

That's what I'm thinking and is in line with what the police were asking after my parents were burgled a few years ago... Tradesmen etc who might have had legitimate access and been able to scope out for valuables, or security prior to the incident.

This is awful and I can imagine how worried you are.

For the future would you be able to persuade your Mum not to answer her mobile unless the screen shows a name she trusts? Any bona fide person or company will leave a message. Admittedly this con artist could have left a message claiming to be the police, but I think most would not.

Even if a message was left by some low life it would give your Mum time to think about it and perhaps phone you first.

Similarly, if your Mum has a landline. Most landline phone seem to have answer machines built in which can filter out the dodgy callers.

Dave 

cifas have a service (paid) that can flag up any activity of a financial nature (credit card and loan applications) that might be worth considering https://www.cifas.org.uk/

also, if you don't have access to your Mum's bank accounts (and she is willing, and any other siblings are in greement, and she wants your help etc), you might want to think about getting access. banks usually have "Third Party Access" forms which your Mum can sign for you to have access to her accounts.  These are the banks own forms and they know what to do with them.  They're very specific to the bank, and much simpler to implement.  They are not power of attorney, so less complicated and much quicker, and bansk often have problem impmenting power of attorney forms.  if your Mum still has mental capacity, she can do Third Party access forms.  if not, you will need Power of Attorney.  If you hven't already got Power of Attorney forms for your Mum, and you think she might be loosing capacity (or will do soon) you might want to think about Power of attorney.

Sorry to hear this. 

Have a friend similarly scammed - fake detective and fake bank manager. Scenario was set up using “trust” and as my friend couldn’t do an online transfer of monies for account safety, a courier was sent to pick up the bank card which the bank required to set up new account. Lost £300 or so.

If it is any comfort, in her case it was purely cash. No repeats or attempts to re visit were ever done. Police were good and checked property, checked alarms, gave direct phone number for contact should they come back.

Other have mentioned credit agencies. One other thing I can think of to check for future at some point is the voting register and that your mother is not on the open register. This was the situation with my mother being set up and on suckers lists as they are know the Name and addresses from the open list which are sold to anyone by councils. Linked to telephone directory was easy to get phone number, and other details to make convincing scams.

If the police know her mobile number they can find out who called her.

Could've been a burglar casing the joint? Why did he say he wanted your number? Definitely get someone trusted to go round and get her to re-enact the incident.

You need to ban your mum or any other vulnerable relative from acknowledging any sort of cold caller. Give them some sort of answerphone / voicemail* and ban them from answering unknown callers - genuine ones will leave messages.

I came up this morning.  Yeah, she just feels a little silly that she's caused a nuisance and I'm trying to reassure her that none of this is her fault - it's the guys fault.

Told her that in future if the number is withheld, to send it to voicemail.  If it's important, they'll leave a message.  And on no circumstances is anyone to come in the house, regardless of what ID they appear to havem, or who they say they are,

She;s adamant that he came in, sat down, chatted.  She didn't leave the room to make drinks, he didnt' ask to use bathroom and then she saw him out,  It;s a tiny shotgun shack type bungalow and you can pretty much see every part of the it from where she was. Nothing is missing, 

He;s not asked for bank details or anything private, but I'm going to call her bank later on to see if there;s anyway there can safeguard her account.

I'm going to knock on a few of her neighbours later and tell them what's happened although I need to tread carefully,,,the area she lives in is all bungalows and old folk so having me turn up at their doors will probably be a shock to some of them

Also going to call in at the local police station just in case they're not totally linked in with the 101 number and the Northumbria police website.

Thanks everyone.  It's awful living so far away from here.  I've spent most of the night visualising catching the scumbag in the act and kicking him until he screams, and then continuing until he stops which has put me on a massive anxiety spike (part of the reason I've held off knocking on her neighbours doors..might be worth calming down first )

Suggest you considering getting a financial power of attorney so that you can manage her finances.

Also have you thought about getting some form of Ring device so you can look at who is ringing the doorbell.Or even monitor who is in the house. A very easy and simple fit to do

I'd guess it was either a sneak/distraction theft attempt in the moment or given the police schtick an attempt to scam her out of bank access. If she's not as vulnerable as the bastard assumed he may have given up with nothing. They could also have been scoping out the options for pressure selling 'home improvement' or financial services shite rather than burglary, I suspect that is much more lucrative than nicking trinkets from old folk. In that case 'police' is just the most reliable way to get a foot in the door.

It's quite possible your name and number was volunteered if your mum was hoping for some support in the moment and was simply 'noted' to maintain the illusion of policework.

The phone blocking/restriction ideas sound like good advice. Also speaking to her bank about increased fraud risk and her/your options.

Maybe get her one of those camera doorbells so you can keep an eye on who comes and goes for a while in real time if she'd agree. Also a chain on the door. Buy her time and space to actually check credentials of any callers. If she's shaken up by this as it sounds she might be persuaded insist on those checks and a call to family for backup if she's not sure which is easier from behind a chained door.

Do double check with the police. I had a very odd handwritten note from the police in the post a few years back, it looked very vague and scammy but was also credible (I'd recently bought a car from a total scrote which made both options credible) so I called the relevant station (west yorks' somewhere IIRC, not my patch) who wouldn't confirm or deny the officer was one of theirs or looking for me. I left a number, she called back later that day and we sorted things out. Lots of confusion all round.

jk

Sorry you are going this  Lowest scum of the scum praying on older folks  

I second a ring style doorbell  Look at Eufy as they have a non subscription model and can be battery operated so takes seconds to fit  battery lasts about three months then unclip and a couple of hours on a usb charge  

As you live away might be better to hardwire in which is simple if a normal doorbell is already present  

You can link to multiple mobiles so you can see who is at the door. You can also set for motion detect which works very well rather than just when the doorbell rings  

Anecdotally a video doorbell is quite obvious and a bad guy will look for another door rather than sticking his or her ugly mug in front of one. 
 

I live in Northumberland. Good luck finding a local police station 😳 on a normal night shift south east Northumberland (Ashington / Blyth / Cramlington) have two cops on shift covering the whole patch. 
 

Take preventative control yourself (though don’t take the law into your own hands)

Yeah, going to look at the doorbell options. I assumed they needed a WiFi connection though... Which she doesn't have. I could sort that out for her if necessary too.

I terms of police stations, we're pretty lucky. North Sunderland, there's a station about three miles away. Going to Bob down now. 

property fraud seems to be on the rise. the land registry do a free alert service..

Really sorry to hear about this. I’m not really sure that your details would have been the person’s agenda - I think that there would be easier ways to find an identity to steal. 

As others have said, the effects of such an encounter on anyone, but particularly elderly people can be quite complex. I’ve dealt with lots of similar and other horrible frauds. The victims often feel really very affected by the encounters, suffering depression and frustration - almost like they are forced to confront the fact that they might be getting old and vulnerable

It must be hard to be so far away, but if you can, try to be a little gentle and maybe put things in place so this doesn’t happen again. It happens to many, and not all are vulnerable, or naive. She hasn’t done anything wrong, these people are scum of the earth. 
 

Sending best wishes, hope nothing comes of your details being in their hands and your mum is okay. 

You are correct about needing wifi access for the doorbell options suggested. We don't have a Ring doorbell but use their cameras and with good wifi access they are good and can be accessed from anywhere you can get a data link.

Obviously, getting internet access for your Mum will cost but will give you a certain measure of piece of mind.

Dave

As others have mentioned I'd be more stressed that she's been scoped for a future burglary going after valuables than any financial fraud. There's easier less risky ways of doing that.

Ah nice part of the world  My Mum was born and bred in Seahouses  

Yes you would need Wi-Fi unfortunately.

Good luck getting it sorted the bobbies up there are still pretty old school so you should be ok  

A relative of ours drive 50 miles to us absolutely panic striken. It seems he had fallen for the iTunes scam and was being hounded for money. In the hour it took him to drive to us he had about thirty missed calls on his mobile from the scammer. While with us the scammer rang again. I took the call and impersonated our relative. I yold the scammer that he had been rumbled, that the police had been notifiedand that he should ph@ck off.

I then told relative to change his mobile number and go ex-directory on his landline.

His response was that it was all too much trouble and that "I won't get caught again". All this was about five years ago.

The said relative died about three weeks ago and we are, together with a solicitor, going through his affairs. Sadly there are quite a few indications that, failing to heed our advice, he did get "caught again".

Might be best to print out a flyer. State the facts, ask if they have any footage and who to call. Also to be aware that it could happen to them. Might be easier than asking dozens of old people, who may not answer or forget details etc.

So, the call I made to 101 was returned about an hour ago. Caller said it sounded unlikely that a scammer would call ahead, and a withheld number is the norm. Talked through everything we've discussed here and said he would ping out an email to officers.

It was genuine. The officer who made the visit called back, and we've spoken. Got his name and collar number, explained the situation in a lot more detail.

I now feel a mixture of relief and stupidity, that I've acted like a complete hysteric.

But I got to see me mam at least. She had scampi for tea at the so she's also happy.  Now I'm 200 miles away from home without any clean underpants.

I appreciate everyone who's taken the time to help call me down here. 

Yeah. Flyers would have been the way I would have gone, I think. 22 stone, 6 foot 4 bearded, red eyed gonk knocking at your door...not the best impression is it. 

Dont worry about it. Glad its all ok. Perhaps use lessons learned, to put in place measures to prevent anything like that happening for real. 

Feeling like a complete bell end seems to be my default position these days

Glad to hear it, but you can see how con artists get into the houses of vulnerable adults, if this is how the police do it.

Hi- really sorry to hear that, despicable. As well as a scam I'd be probably more concerned about a distraction burglary. It is probably easier and lower risk to scam someone just by phone. 

Best wishes- Ed 

I know.. Mam is so bloody trusting. The fact he was well dressed with an ID on his lanyard was enough.

Going to just gently reinforce things a little now about keeping people at the door unless she knows them. I'm also going to look at getting a panic alarm cord installed to the local authority

Bloody lovely area that. I had my first school trip to Bamburgh and Seahouses and bought my nanna some kippers, then stunk the coach out on the way home. 

Were a bit further south, I'll be having a quick bimble down to roker, seaburn, Whitburn and Marsden tomorrow before heading back to manc. 

Definitely worth doing the Land Registry Alert service. Easy to set up as well.

Glad it’s turned out to be a genuine visit; hopefully both your mother and yourself can relax a bit now.

I am surprised though that the Police must think it acceptable to visit an elderly vulnerable person at 9pm for something like you described. 9pm is not a suitable time in my view to visit and investigate something that surely was minor and not involving your mother directly anyway.

I know my mother would have been alarmed by that and given her a sleepless night.

I know. I think the fact that he called beforehand and had asked to visit later May have mitigated a little. But yes. Extremely relieved

Just had a third call back from northumbria police to confirm the details 

Hopefully it will encourage them to review how this interaction went to stop such a situation happening again. I am glad it wasn't a scammer and sorted out in the end.

Great result

I had a visit from a similar fellow a few years back who claimed he was from the local drug squad and wanted to see if my flat was suitable for spying on a house down the road. No uniform, trainers and a similar dodgy plastic badge on a lanyard.

It was quite obvious he was for real, and I said if they'd give me the gear I'd do the spying for them. Unfortunately there were too many trees in the way.

You'd hope they'd have sharpened up their contact procedures by now but it seems not.

Neither stupid nor hysterical, only justifiably concerned.

Enjoy the visit to your mam.

I would have made my feelings on that very firmly when they finally called back. I know the police are very overstretched, but they must understand the need for authentication in these situations. They must know how scammers operate, and therefore how to verify their own identities.

On the other hand anyone  can go to the census on line and find anyone's name and address.  Most people have names + telephone numbers and addresses in the phone book.

(But please don't think I'm dismissing the fact that their was/is some other motive of your mum's visitor - I'd make sure she doesn't let him in if he calls again with a follow up visit and make sure she doesn't give any bank details away.).

If it makes you feel any better my lovely trusting and generous late Nan was very vulnerable to scams and had several people take her in for not insignificant amounts. My Dad found her on the phone to the 'police' once, he got on the line and asked some questions, the guy got really nasty. Your concern was very much justified. 

I do remember rocking up to my late nanas house to find her at the door with a charity collector. She was trying to give him a couple of quid yet he was quite aggressively trying to badger her for direct debit details. Seriously, it was not difficult to see that she was extremely frail and confused but still wanted to give a few quid, but he wouldn't have it. Was dead set on those bank details. I've never enjoyed telling someone to go ***k themselves quite so much. 

Probably a 'chugger'; charity muggers. Professionals who put on a different charity t-shirt every day, and harass people in the street. The ugly, unacceptable side of fundraising.