Pensioner loses £500 in cruel holiday scam

Victim’s warning after falling for phone con

A SHAW pensioner is warning others to be on the guard after heartless scammers fleeced her out of more than £500.

The victim, who does not want to named, was phoned at home by someone who told her that as a customer of internet service provider AOL she could enjoy a holiday at the Universal Studios in Florida for only £399.

The 67-year-old woman then passed on all her bank details over the phone — and the next day discovered that £500 had been taken out of her bank account.

But when she phoned the number the caller had left it rang out and it dawned on the devastated pensioner that her £500, and the dream holiday, had disappeared.

Now she is keen to warn others so that no one else is duped by the thieves.

She said: “They called me on Thursday night, but as soon as I’d handed over my details I started worrying and couldn’t sleep all night, so I phoned my son-in-law the next day and he was really worried.

“He looked up scams on the internet and discovered that lots of other people have been targeted in a similar way. When he contacted AOL, they said it had absolutely nothing to do with them.

“That’s so much money for me to lose as a pensioner on a fixed income. That cash was for a cruise I was going on next month and it’s already been booked and paid for, so I’m going to have to recoup my losses somehow.

“The scary thing is that they seemed to know so much about me. They knew my address and date of birth and all sorts.

“It’s such cruel thing to do to someone and I don’t understand how these scammers can sleep at night.

“And on top all that, I also feel incredibly stupid and embarrassed, but I want to speak out because I really don’t want anyone else to go through this, it’s dreadful.”