Barry Stone, a 78-year-old man from Marlow, Buckinghamshire in the UK had been called by a group of scammers who claimed to be from Scotland Yard, who are responsible for policing the majority of London. They convinced him to withdraw his life savings of around £12,000 ($15,677) from the bank, and send it via taxi to their London address.
Izy Rashid, the taxi driver, said that the taxi company had received a call "from somebody in London by the name of Gary to pick someone up in Marlow." However, when he arrived, he started to get a little bit suspicious, since when he got there, he found that there was no passenger to pick up - only a box. "My colleague brought it back to the office but then I took it back to the gentleman. At first he said, 'No, it's aftershave for my son,' because that's what the scammers had told him to say. We later realized they had rung him, claiming to be from the Met Police."
"It makes me look so foolish," he said. "I was rushing about, I went for my flu jab, came back at about 1.30pm. I hadn't had anything to eat and then you think the police are phoning, you don't register."
Of course, Barry was beyond thankful for the work of his conscientious driver. "He's a wonderful man and friend now, a very, very good friend," he explained. "I'll start using his taxis now. I'm going away in a few weeks time and flying from Heathrow so I'll make sure I use him then. I'm really angry that people can do something like that though, rob you and take your money - targeting old people as well."
