Back in May we reported how Morgan Douglas Nuth narrowly escaped sending scammers over £3k. Well Diana Kaye, who has three shops in North Yorkshire and Tyne & Wear, found herself in a similar situation as she explained.
“A man called our Yarm shop using the name Stuart Beaver. He claimed to be a Bailiff who was due to arrive at the shop in 2 hours to collect goods to the value of nearly £4K!
My head was in turmoil as I didn’t recall anything to do with the company OMS MEDIA who were claiming I owed money to them from back in 2017!
Fortunately, I took fright just in time, called the police and then my solicitor, who checked it all out and confirmed it was a scam.
However even though I have been in business for 40 years and thought I was good at spotting a scam this guy was very good and very convincing. He even gave me a phone number to call which actually had what seemed like a real recording from Lincolnshire Crown Court.
It turns out that five other people in my area had been targeted and I am sure other people might have paid up; after all it went back so far and in all the turmoil of Covid etc could have been overlooked.
My advice is to be vigilant. This is an extremely sophisticated scam and they know all the tricks but if you have any doubts don’t hand over a penny.
Editor’s Note: We first reported on this scam back in May 2021 when the Fraud Office told Morgan it was one of the most sophisticated ones they have seen in a long time.
Burner phones, untraceable emails, duplicating (in his case) the Northampton Court phone system so you end up with one of the scammers, various different websites in the claimant’s name, presumably to enable the scammers to target a range of business, but with the same stock shots all seemingly employing the same people with different names!! All together a very slick operation and easy to see why people could get easily caught out.
What we, the police, the HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Ministry of Justice media department we’ve liaised with would say is to be very, very vigilant. Scams are not new but people are perhaps a little more vulnerable at the moment and memories have been pushed to the hilt. Do not be pushed or bullied into sending money to anyone and if in doubt ring your local Fraud Office or contact the police at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
