A PENSIONER has been conned out of £500 after responding to a fake competition offer delivered to her address in Bridlington.
The 86-year-old of Wellington Road, who does not wish to be named, was fooled by the official-looking letter, thought to originate from Peurto Rico, which offered her a cash prize if she made an initial payment of £500.
The letter stated that ther
e were $2.5million US dollars waiting for her, but before the money could be released, a payment of £500 was needed to clear 'customs fees'.
The pensioner paid the money into an account over the post office counter but never received her 'cash prize'.
Her 57-year-old son, who also wished to remain anonymous, said the letter was extremely convincing and warned others not to respond to them.
"This is clearly an international scam," he said, "My mother is 86-years-old but she is very switched on to everything, yet they still got her.
"They are obviously preying on pensioners and vulnerable people and once they've got their hooks in, you've had it."
He added the police had been very supportive but they said that tracking the movements of the transactions once they had gone overseas was very difficult.
A spokesman for Humberside Police said: "We would advise people never to send bank details in response to letters, or over the telephone, despite how tempting the offer can sound.
"Take a telephone number and ring back to verify the caller – genuine callers will not mind."
He added that the best thing to do with such letters is to throw them in the bin.
A spokesman for East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: "It's rare to get something for nothing and if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is."
Any victims of this type of crime should contact Consumer Direct for advice on 0845 4040506.
The full article contains 325 words and appears in Bridlington Free Press newspaper.
