Joan was told to send £2,850 to an address in London for 'fingerprint checks'
PC Nicholson accompanied Joan to the bank to pay the money in (Image: Skegness Police)
An elderly woman was scammed out of £3,000 after fraudsters told her there was an issue with her bank - but determined cops battled paperwork and the postal system to return it to her. On Saturday, December 14, Joan was contacted by scammers pretending to be from the Barclays Fraud Team.
She was told that there was an issue with her account and fingerprint checks needed to be carried out on her money. A post shared to the Skegness Police page on Tuesday, January 14, explains: "They asked her to send £2,850 in cash to an address in London.
"These scammers can be extremely manipulative, persuasive and insistent, and they prey on the vulnerable. Joan unfortunately believed them and sent the money via special delivery."
However, two days later, Joan felt something was wrong and went to the Barclays bank in Skegness.
Joan, who is in her late 80s, spoke with an advisor who realised she had been scammed, and the incident was reported to the police. Student officer PC Nicholson visited Joan about the situation and found that the pensioner had made notes on the scammer's instructions as she struggles with her memory.
Joan had noted down the instructions, as well as the full address where she sent the money to and a receipt with a tracking number. This tracking number showed the package was still in transit somewhere in London.
The post continued: "On her way back to the station PC Nicholson passed a postman and explained the situation to him. He referred her to the local Central Operations Manager at Skegness Post Office who, after several calls, tracked down a manager at Mount Pleasant, London.
"The package was thankfully located and redirected back to Skegness. Some technical paperwork followed due to laws around the interception of mail, but thanks to assistance from our Economic Crime Unit, all was in order and the package was released."
Joan is "delighted" to have her money safely returned and also enjoyed her first-ever ride in a police car. PC Nicholson accompanied Joan to the bank so she could pay the money in.
The post adds: "Getting Joan’s money back has been a real team effort and we would like to send a heartfelt thank you to PC Nicholson and all our staff who assisted, as well as those from Barclays Bank and Royal Mail. They saw that what was an awful ordeal for an elderly lady at least had a happy ending, showing there are good people who will go the extra mile to look after vulnerable members of our community."