Courier scammers trick man into withdrawing €5,000

The man from Wiltshire was first called on his landline

A 77-year-old man has told the BBC how he feels like an "idiot" for believing scammers impersonating police and bank staff on the phone.

They eventually asked him to take out €5,000 (£4,142) and tried to send someone to pick up the cash from his home.

The man, from Wiltshire, said: "They were so convincing - to begin with, I believed all they were telling me."

Wiltshire Police has said it is known as courier fraud, and the force and banks would never send a courier to collect something.

Pretending to be police

On 16 December, the victim's phone rang. The call was from someone claiming they were a police officer in London, saying they had caught a young man trying to buy something with a card in his name. To make it more convincing, they said they would pass him to Wiltshire Police.

It was not the police, but after getting calls every ten minutes from different people with false names and titles that seemed very real, he found it quite confusing.

"I had such a quantity of phone calls from them - I started to get suspicious," he said.

The 77-year-old has kept meticulous notes of what happened

Eventually, he was told to take thousands of pounds out in euros, which they would insure.

He went to a Post Office branch to do the exchange and came home with the money.

Later, he was called again and told they were sending someone to collect the cash.

"The so-say sergeant rang me to say they needed the euros for evidence and they'd be coming to collect it in ten minutes" he added.

That was when he called the police, who visited him that evening.

He did not hand anything over but still lost more than £500 due to the exchange rate when he returned the money to the bank.

'Sit back and think'

He does not want anyone else to be fooled and potentially hand over money. He said: "My main feeling is what an idiot I was to go along with it.

"I think the first thing to do is to sit back and think when you get the first phone call, if possible speak to somebody else. I was here all alone, they kept ringing.

"I think I got a bit confused and went along with what they were suggesting. Try not to get flustered when you get these phone calls."

He does not want anyone else to be in the same situation

Complex fraud team manager, Cheryl Hurren from Wiltshire Police said the case has been referred to Action Fraud.

"This case is a type of courier fraud, where victims are duped into handing over money by suspects, often involving the impersonation of police officers or bank staff," she said.

"The victim may also be convinced into handing over their bank cards, PINs, or high-value items such as jewellery or watches."

Police or bank staff will not call to verify personal details, PIN numbers or send a courier to someone's home.

"Any requests to do so are part of a scam," she added.

Police said to report any such request to Action Fraud and if you have given any bank details or handed your card over, call your bank quickly to cancel the card.