An elderly victim of fraud visited the Kimberley branch in September to purchase £600 worth of Amazon vouchers, which caused alarm bells for shop workers.
The victim has been called by a woman pretending to be from HMRC. They told him that he owed more than £500 for unpaid taxed between 1950 and 1980.
The scammers then offered them appointments in Leicester and Sheffield to pay the bill, however they then said he could buy a handful of £100 Amazon vouchers to pay the bill and someone would collect them.
The victim attended his local Wilko store where he attempted to buy the vouchers, but following staff training they intervened and called the police, therefore no money was lost.
Team Supervisor Rachel Oscroft became concerned when she noticed the man looking confused in store as he tried to buy a large quantity of vouchers.
She said: “The man was clearly very distressed when he came into store to purchase the six Amazon vouchers.
“Thankfully I was well aware of these kind of scams and rang the police straight away.
“I was delighted to help the man not to lose any money.
“He was seen wandering about the shop looking confused, so naturally asked if he was okay and we were obviously very worried when he told us the full situation.
“He didn’t want to let us know at first, but eventually did tell us, so we knew instantly it was a scam. He had all the details of the scam written down – the address, the telephone number and appointment times.
“He was so worried and scared, but thankfully we got it through to him that it was a scam and we could help him and calm him down.
“We’ve had training on how to spot the signs, so we knew instantly when he told us. We’ve had this previously where a woman nearly lost out on money.
“We were pleased to stop him, it’s very frustrating to hear that the vulnerable are being targeted still.”
Fiona Price, a Fraud Protect and Prevent Officer at Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Fraudsters are always looking to exploit people and in this case, it is fortunate that Rachel raised her concerns with us straight away.
“The woman on the phone pretending to work from HMRC was so convincing and no one should feel ashamed of falling for scams like this. The people behind them are very clever and deceiving.
“It goes to show the vital work that our key workers play not just in keeping the country going during lockdown, but spotting exploitation and reporting it to us.
“Rachel did a fantastic job to spot this and report it. We are now working closely with the victim to make sure there is appropriate support for them moving forward.”
If you are a victim of fraud, report it to Action Fraud via their website: www.actionfraid.police.uk In an emergency, you should always call 999.
