A former police community support officer living with dementia has told how fraudsters persuaded him to hand over nearly £2,000 – despite being clued up on the methods used by scammers.
Peter Middleton, 70, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2019, was contacted by scammers who rang his home phone claiming to be from the fraud department at his bank, Barclays.
After some back and forth, they said that Mr Middleton had received a new bank card within the last two days, which he had, and provided the last four digits.
Peter Middleton, 70, has dementia and was targeted by scammers claiming to be from his bank
They explained that while they were members of the fraud team, they were investigating an internal fraud by members of the team and that they’d need Mr Middleton’s help.
Still unhappy with the call’s legitimacy, Mr Middleton said he would call back from another phone.
‘I know that if I put the phone down and phone again on the same phone, there is a chance that if I hadn’t ended the call properly they could take over any other call I make,’ he told This is Money.
Scammers can forward calls by rerouting all calls intended for the victim’s phone, or the ones they make, to their number. However, it seems the scammers managed to intercept Mr Middleton’s call on this occasion.
‘They slowly unfolded a story about somebody from the fraud department who was based overseas, who was trying to transfer money from my account. They said two attempts had been made over the last couple of days but they had been blocked,’ he explains.
‘They asked me to go through with completing one of those transactions in order to find out where the money was going. I thought, that sounds reasonable, how do I go about doing that?’
They spent nearly an hour and a half talking to me and grooming me. I was taken in
Mr Middleton, who was a police community support officer for the last 12 years of his working life and previously worked in IT, says he wanted to help them ‘as a good citizen.’
The scammers told the pensioner to transfer money from his current account to what they claimed was the fraud department manager’s bank account.
He was warned that Barclays would query the payment but to wave it through, saying it was to a relative.
‘Looking back on it, I was a fool, but they were so convincing. They spent nearly an hour and a half talking to me and grooming me and I was taken in.’
Mr Middleton handed over the £1,800 in his current account and when Barclays got in touch to ask about the payment, he said it was being made to an aunt.
It was only when Mr Middleton mentioned the interaction to his wife he realised that it could have been a scam.
Convincing: The scammers were able to allay Mr Middleton’s concerns and persuade him to hand over £1,800, even though he has experience dealing with fraud victims as a PCSO
‘I’ve been involved in helping victims of fraud many, many times, but I’d never heard of a fraud of this nature and this cleverness,’ he told This Is Money.
‘The person was really solicitous and really good at what they did. They took me in hook, line and sinker, and they played on the fact that I wanted to help.
‘It all made me feel comfortable, and they kept telling me how helpful it was because it was a major fraud and there were vulnerable people out there becoming victims. I wanted to help.’
Even now, Mr Middleton is at a loss as to how the scammers managed to find out his information and target him. ‘I’m very careful to shred any information I get from the bank before I dispose of it. I’m security-minded,’ he says.
Those with dementia at ‘greater risk’ of scams
Fraud is the most common crime in the UK and one of the most common types is Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud, when scammers trick victims into transferring money from their accounts.
The Alzheimer’s Society says those suffering with dementia are at increased risk of scams because they find managing money and assessing risk harder.
Dr Tim Beanland, head of knowledge and learning at the charity, said: ‘Anyone can fall victim to a scam, but for the nearly one million people living with dementia in the UK today, this can leave them at greater risk of financial abuse.
‘Dementia can impact people’s confidence around managing their money, make them less able to judge risk and some symptoms can also result in lower literacy or numeracy skills.
‘Tricking vulnerable people for financial gain is deplorable, but sadly it is something that criminals do daily using high-pressure or increasingly sophisticated tactics, as in Peter’s case, where he genuinely believed he was speaking to his bank’s fraud department.
‘This is why it is incredibly important for people like Peter to share their personal experiences of financial abuse – to highlight its prevalence and variety, how to stay safe, as well as the support and services available to anyone who believes they have been scammed.’
The part of me that wanted to do my civic duty overrode the part of me that was cautious
Mr Middleton says: ‘When you have dementia you know that you’re on a path of cognitive decline and every now and then you come across things that throw that into sharp highlight. That was one of those occasions, it was very difficult to come to terms with.
‘I think part of me all along, even during the phone call, I had a feeling of, what if it’s not legitimate? But the part of me that wanted to do my civic duty overrode the part of me that was cautious. I felt, and still feel, awful. I feel like a complete clown’.
Thankfully for Mr Middleton, Barclays refunded the £1,800 sent to the scammers.
However, there are broader questions about what protections are put in place by banks for those living with illnesses and disabilities.
How can dementia sufferers and banks avoid fraud?
We asked Barclays what it had in place to protect those suffering from cognitive decline.
Have you been scammed?
Do you or a relative live with dementia and been a victim of a scam?
How did your bank protect you?
Get in touch: editor@thisismoney.co.uk
It said it always encourages customers to contact it if they have any illness or disability that might ‘impact their ability to use banking services or make them more vulnerable.’
Barclays says there are also options to grant family members and carers access to accounts, either directly or by informing the bank that they have a legal authority such as power of attorney.
Power of attorney is a document that gives someone the authority to make decisions about someone’s finances and property on someone else’s behalf. You can apply on the Government website.
A power of attorney isn’t like a joint bank account, and an attorney can only help manage the person’s account in the way they want them to. Crucially, they don’t have any legal claim to any money.
If someone no longer has the mental capacity to make their own financial decisions, and therefore cannot request power of attorney, the Court of Protection can appoint a deputy to act on their behalf.
Barclays also gives its customers the option to invite someone to be an additional cardholder or account supervisor, although they will need to be a Barclays customer themselves.
An account supervisor can set controls like maximum spending, transaction and withdrawal limits, and controls on where spending can happen.
Memory issues can reduce awareness or understanding that a crime has taken place, or make it difficult to recall details and therefore report the issue.
We also asked Barclays what processes are in place for vulnerable victims of fraud specifically, especially those suffering from cognitive decline, but it did not respond to that request.
Further advice on spotting scams and what people should do if tricked by fraudsters is available from the Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Support Line (0333 150 3456).
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