Mobs prey on elderly in cruel shares racket

As many as 50 investors, mostly retired professionals from across North and West Yorkshire, are known to have been exploited by the conspiracy, thought to have been operating for several years.

But detectives fear the true number of vulnerable victims may be far higher as many are too embarrassed to come forward and admit they have been deceived by cold-callers.

Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the scam, which is the first of its type to be uncovered in the region by West Yorkshire Police’s economic crime unit.

Det Insp Steven Taylor said: “We are dealing with approximately 40 or 50 victims at this moment in time, but we could be dealing with a lot more than that.

“This may be only the tip of the iceberg because a lot of people do not report it.”

Boiler rooms are bogus stockbroking companies which call investors out of the blue, often several times, and convince them to buy fake shares over the phone.

Many victims of the Yorkshire scam had invested in businesses before, but they were deceived because the fraudsters were offering shares in well-known companies which appeared to be genuine.

Some of the investors have had their contact details passed on to other criminals, who have then contacted them to offer more shares as a way to recoup their stolen money.

Most boiler rooms are based overseas, but covert intelligence and information provided by banks led detectives to West Yorkshire, where an investigation has been ongoing since Christmas.

The Yorkshire Post understands the monies stolen range from about £10,000 to £200,000.

Two men, aged 70 and 69, and a 69-year-old woman, all from Keighley, were arrested in March and released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Det Insp Taylor said “West Yorkshire has never been a centre for this type of crime. There have been clusters in County Durham, London and elsewhere in the South-East, but this is the first time we have seen a boiler room fraud here.

“We are asking residents to be aware of who they are receiving calls from and also handing out their personal details to.”

Fraud investigators have noticed a rise in cases since the recession, some boiler rooms targeting victims who have received redundancy packages or are under more financial pressure than normal.

City of London Police revealed yesterday that they had written to about 1,800 people whose names were found on a suspected boiler room list.

In another case, 15 Britons were indicted in Spain last week after police discovered a list of some 24,000 UK nationals, thought to include Yorkshire residents.

National Fraud Authority director Edward Nkune said that while many victims remained silent, £26m was reported lost in the UK to boiler room frauds in the last 12 months.

“In some cases, victims have been known to lose their entire family savings to these fraudsters,” he added.

“It is only through reporting that we can begin to dismantle boiler rooms and reduce victims.”

The services director at Age UK, Helena Herklots, said: “Although crime against older people is less likely than other age groups, people in later life can be an attractive target for scammers.”

Residents offered shares over the phone are advised to ask for the company’s details, such as its Financial Services Authorities number, which can be independently checked.

For more guidance, call the UK’s national fraud reporting centre, Action Fraud, on 0300 1232040 or visit www.actionfraud.org.uk.