It has been easier during the pandemic for criminals to cash in on those they think more likely to fall for scams
When Angela Smith* phoned her 93-year-old mother to remind her to take her medication, she asked, as usual, how her day had been. “She said ‘I have been busy on the phone all day. There is a man at the bank who is trying to steal all my money, so I had to go there to help them find him,’” Smith says.
Her mother, who has dementia, had been taken in by a common scam. A well-spoken criminal, claiming to be from her bank, phoned and told her that a staff member of the local branch had been stealing from her, and asked her to withdraw cash so that management could trace the notes to the teller. She was persuaded to leave the money under her front door mat to be picked up.