Cruel fake doctor told Royal Navy vet his wife was fighting for life after car crash and demanded £300 over phone
A Royal Navy veteran was conned out of £300 by a convincing fraudster who appeared to call him from his wife's phone, saying he needed to pay the money for a life-saving operation
HEARTLESS fraudsters conned a former Royal Navy warrant officer by telling him his wife was critically ill and they needed £300.
Martin Parry, 47, received a call that appeared to be from his wife’s phone with a man telling him his wife had been involved in a car crash and needed life-saving surgery but he had to give them £300 before the operation could take place.
However, once the money had been transferred it became clear his wife, Del, had not been involved in any accident.
Martin had been a victim of ‘spoofing’ which allows con artists to hide their identities and impersonate people.
The cruel fraudsters had used specialist technology to make it look like they were calling from her phone.
The practice, known as ‘spoofing’, allows criminals to mask their identities and impersonate people.
The scammer, who called himself Dr Verma from South Tyneside District Hospital, sounded convincing referring to Martin’s wife, 45, by her nickname, an abbreviation of her middle name Delyth.
Martin, who was in the Royal Navy for 24 years until retiring in 2011, told the : “It was a man with an Indian accent and he asked, ‘Are you Martin Parry?’
“He also knew my date of birth and my address. He said, ‘Don’t panic but I have your wife Del here.’ I fell for it is because she’s got a very Welsh name and Del is her nickname. I thought, “Bloody hell.” It was all fitting into place.”
The man explained that the money was needed to cover the cost of the metal and rods that needed to be put into her leg but he could claim the money back.
Martin transferred the money by online banking and hurried to the hospital.
He called relatives on the way to see if they could pick up their two children – Rachel, nine, and Jake, 11 – from school.
Martin spoke to his wife’s sister Rhiannon Williams who said she was due to meet the couple’s daughter at a dance studio.
Going outside to collect Rachel she saw Del sat in her car – who was talking to the very same con man who had just duped her husband.
The man was telling her that exactly the same accident had happened to her husband and £300 was needed.
When the two women realised what was happening the man hung up.
Martin reported the case to Northumbria Police, who told him it was probably a data breach.
The force passed the case on to Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
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A spokesman for Action Fraud said: “This type of scam, known as “number spoofing”, works by fraudsters cloning the telephone number of the organisation or person they want to impersonate and then making it appear on the victim’s caller ID display when they telephone them.
"The fraudsters will then gain the person’s trust by highlighting the number to them, claiming that this is proof of their identity, before trying to scam them in various ways.”
Mr Parry also called EE, his network provider, who said there was no evidence of a data breach from its end.
Martin said: “I’ve never heard of a scam like this before and I don’t get shaken up very often but this one shook me up. I’m kicking myself now, how can I fall for this?”
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