Derby taxi driver helps prevent passenger being defrauded

Mr Bhatti said alarm bells were ringing as he heard the story

A taxi driver's chance conversation with a passenger led to him realising she was about to become a fraud victim.

Nayyer Iqbal Bhatti, 52, from Derby, was asked by his female passenger - who he believes was about 80 - to drive to a bank 15 miles (24km) away.

She said she had been told to do so by a man who had rung her who she believed was a fraud investigation officer.

Mr Bhatti alerted the bank - Barclays - who told him it was a fraud. The bank has warned customers to be careful.

Mr Bhatti told BBC Radio Derby that when he had picked up the passenger in Duffield on Thursday, she mentioned she had had a terrible morning.

"She said from about 07:00 BST, she had been receiving phone calls from a fraud investigation officer suggesting her account had had some weird activity," he said.

"What alerted me was we were going to an out-of-Derby branch.

"She said 'I was told not to attend that particular branch because the person they suspect might be doing the fraud works there'.

"Every alarm bell was ringing. I thought it was definitely a scam.

"I didn't want to alarm the lady. What I did [when we arrived] was run straight into the bank."

When bank staff confirmed the woman was about to be scammed, Mr Bhatti brought her into the branch and left her in the care of the staff.

The woman rang Mr Bhatti's cab firm later to thank him

She rang the taxi firm, Albatross Cars, later that evening to pass on her thanks.

"As a taxi driver, you are somebody's older brother and people do offload," Mr Bhatti said.

"I was more than happy to help, as I would any other passenger."

Ross Martin, head of digital safety at Barclays, said: "Scammers will often make calls and text messages look like they're coming from a well-known company or organisation, such as a bank or the police.

"We encourage customers to be cautious of any unexpected calls, text messages and emails they receive and to be extra cautious if they are asked to call a number or open a link.

"Anyone that isn't sure the call is from us should immediately end the call and telephone us back using the number on the back of their debit card or the 'Direct call' option in the Barclays app."