GMP and banking institutions are clamping down on fraudsters exploiting vulnerable victims in Greater Manchester

Yesterday afternoon (Thursday 9 January) a bank in Middleton raised serious concerns about an elderly man who was attempting to transfer almost £100,000 to an alleged contractor.

Police attended the bank and spoke to the employees, and it became clear that this elderly man had periodically been transferring large sums of money to a man for building work on his house.

However, after a visit to the victim’s house, it’s believed that that over several months, he had paid over £250,000 for minor renovations, such as painting. Whilst they were at the property, the suspect showed up, and he was swiftly arrested on suspicion of fraud. He remains in police custody for questioning.

Specialist detectives from our dedicated Economic Crime Unit conducted an initial search into the suspects bank account which suggests that the victim’s money had been spent at restaurants and luxury retailers on items such as high value jewellery and clothes.

GMP has a robust banking protocol which involves us working in close partnership with banks across Greater Manchester to make sure they receive enhanced training on how to respond to suspicious activity. By educating institutions on how to report concerns, it means we can be alerted at the earliest opportunity and pursue those who are exploiting vulnerable people. This incident is one of many examples of this banking protocol in action, which has enabled us to implement robust safeguarding responses to protect people from being defrauded.

As well as pursuing fraudsters, specialist fraud prevent volunteers dedicate hours of their time to getting out into communities to offer prevention advice to protect as many people as possible, but also support those who have unfortunately already been a victim.

Detective Superintendent Andy Buckthorpe from our Economic Crime Unit said: “It is truly alarming to see this level of exploitation of a vulnerable man.

“Thanks to the diligence of the bank and their knowledge that something wasn’t right, we were able to immediately respond and make a positive arrest, but also safeguard the victim to ensure he is now protected.

“The impact of fraud has real lasting impacts on victims and their families and cannot be underestimated.

“We are out doing all we can to protect our communities from fraud, it is a devastating crime that involves some of the most vulnerable members of our society getting defrauded out of thousands and even tens of thousands of pounds worth of their hard-earned money which is going straight into fraudster’s pockets.

“As soon as we are made aware of incidents like this, we’re able to use our specialist cyber capabilities to follow the money and establish the real word identities of these type of criminals and stop them from doing any more harm.”

GMP has one of the leading Economic Crime Teams in the UK, and over the last three years we have seen a significant increase in positive outcomes for fraud investigations. Our dedicated Cyber and Economic Crime Awareness Service (CECAS) team work with partners and the public to respond to fraud, and over the last year, have held hundreds of events and reached thousands of people in our communities. Work like this has seen a significant reduction in the volume of victim losses and fraud crime and forms a crucial part of our ongoing commitment to protecting people from fraudsters.

Fraudsters usually deploy tactics to create a sense of urgency to make the victim respond quickly. They create a sense of panic, and we encourage people to take 5 to stop and take some time to think about why you are parting with your money and if it feels suspicious. Challenge, ask yourself if this request could be fake, criminals will try to rush you and finally, protect yourself by contacting your bank to report any suspicions.

If you’ve been the victim of a fraud or online crime (cybercrime) you can report it to Action Fraud online at Reporting fraud and cybercrime | Action Fraud or contact 0300 123 2040 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm).