£28.7 Million Lost to Courier Scams Targeting Elderly

A total of £28,686,091 was lost last year in courier fraud where mostly elderly people were targeted, police have said. People in their 80s were the most likely victims of the scammers, accounting for 43 percent of all incidents between April 2023 and March 2024, according to data published on Tuesday by Action Fraud, the national fraud reporting arm of the City of London Police. Courier scamming involves fraudsters cold calling victims’ landlines and pretending to be police or bank officials. The criminals then dupe their targets into handing over money or valuables which are picked up from their home address by couriers. Victims are often told that their accounts have been compromised or that their help is needed to catch the real criminals. Sometimes, victims will be coerced into going out and buying jewellery or gold on behalf of the criminals....