An elderly woman from Sherborne has been scammed out of thousands of pounds after being repeatedly targeted by a conman.

Detectives investigating the incident are appealing for anyone with information to come forward and urging the public to remain vigilant. The woman, who lives in Lenthay Road, received a phone call on Monday, December 7 from a man claiming to be a police officer, who told her £11,000 had been taken from her account.

The victim was asked to withdraw £7,000 but she was only able to withdraw £2,000. He said he was arranging for a plain clothes officer in an unmarked car to come and collect the cash.

Between 3pm and 4pm a man arrived in a white van and the victim handed over the money. The man is described as being in his early 20s, of slim build and clean shaven. On Tuesday, December 8, she received another call telling her to withdraw money and she again went to the bank and handed over another £2,000.

The scammers also tried to get her to move £17,500 into an account but her bank stopped the transaction.
On Friday, December 11 the bogus officer phoned her to get her to withdraw £7,000. She went to the bank, who called police. Officers spoke to her and she realised she had been scammed.

Weymouth CID Detective Constable Holly Spillman said: “We are investigating this series of scam calls and I am appealing to anyone who was in the area of Lenthay Road in Sherborne on the afternoon of Monday, December 7 or Tuesday, December 8 2020 and witnessed any suspicious activity, the man or vehicle described, to please contact us. I would also urge anyone with dashcam who was driving in the area or residents with home CCTV systems to check their footage for anything relevant. This victim was repeatedly targeted by these heartless scammers, she lost a significant amount of money and it could have been even more. We would like to remind everyone that neither police officers or your bank will ask you to withdraw money to be collected. They will also not ask for your PIN number. If you are in any doubt, hang up and call your bank directly.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at dorset.police.uk, email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk or ring 101 quoting occurrence number 55200186260.
Or phone Crimestoppers anonymously: 0800 555 111.

Support Us

Thank you all so, so much for the love and appreciation you’ve shown us since we launched the New Blackmore Vale.

Please show your support and add a review on our Facebook page or on Google.