An 87-year-old man has been saved from scammers after bank staff raised the alarm when he tried to withdraw £10,000.
Staff at Lloyds Bank were concerned when the man tried to transfer £10,000 out of his account 'to a family member' on Tuesday.
As staff spoke to the man, reports ChronicleLive, it became clear he had been called by a con-artist claiming to be from the fraud team at the bank.
The scammer had advised him to transfer his savings to a ‘safe’ account, claiming they had detected suspicious activity on his account.
Police were called to the bank and spoke to the man.
Chief Inspector Paul Walters said: "Sadly frauds of this nature are becoming increasingly common as criminals desperately try to make money by preying on the elderly and the vulnerable.
“What’s despicable about crimes like this is that they manipulate people’s fears and coerce them into giving their savings to the very people they are trying to protect them from.
“In this case bank staff were vigilant and able to help an elderly man - their quick intervention saved him from losing £10,000. Staff trusted their instincts, picked up on the signs that something wasn’t quite right and relayed these concerns to us so we were able to respond in real time.
“Fast action from our officers also resulted in the victim being safeguarded and given bespoke advice to protect him from this happening again. We will continue to work closely with the banks and building societies to protect people from falling victim to such awful scams.”
An investigation into the scam has since been launched.
