Phone fraudsters trick WWII veteran, 92, out of his £10,000 life savings

Albert Simpson, from Sheffield, was sold thousands of pounds worth of bogus drugs over the phone by con artists who said would cure his arthritis.

The 92-year-old, who saw active service in Northern Africa and Europe, was hit with large overdraft charges before his carer Sarah Simons discovered the fraud.

She stepped in and alerted her local Trading Standards office, but so far the fraudsters have not been traced.

Well-wishers have now set up a fundraising page to raise money for Mr Simpson, raiding £1,805 so far.

Andru Keel, who set up the fundrasing page said: “Albert is a dear, trusting old man who longs to see the good in everyone he meets.

“I was appalled to read what has happened to him and even though £10,000 is a lot of money to raise I’m sure we can get close to it if everyone chips in a bit.

“It would be so good to give back to him the money he has worked hard to save over the years.”

Ms Simons, who looks after Mr Simpson one day a week with colleague Lauren-Jade Moffatt, spoke earlier in the week about how she began to notice a change in his behaviour and could tell that something was wrong.

She said: “Albert is a friend and I just couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong at first.

“His telephone kept on ringing and he didn’t have enough money for his weekly shopping.

“He started hiding things from me and was becoming more worried. He’d have episodes when he was really down and expressed worries he was going to be overdrawn.”

She realised that Mr Simpson might have to cancel his respite care - a two-week break he looked forward to every Christmas.

She said: “I felt I had to help and perhaps went further than I should have done by asking Albert if he had any financial worries.

“He explained he had letters from his bank and showed them to me. He had been charged £5,000 here, £2,000 there. I couldn’t believe it.

“He’s very trusting and I knew something wasn’t right.”

Mr Simpson, who worked for British Rail for 25 years, had paid huge sums for bags full of worthless drugs and vitamins.

But he remains philosophical and explained he has learned his lesson.

He said: “I’ve learned a lesson - well, you do, don’t you? And nobody’s learned more lessons in life than me.”

Councillor Bryan Lodge, cabinet member for environment at Sheffield Council, said it is important that carers in the community are aware of the signs of scams and rogue trading.

He said: “We know that some of the most vulnerable people in Sheffield sadly won’t have face-to- face contact with many people on a daily basis, which is why it’s important that we use those living and working in our communities to look out for these people and be aware of the signs of scams and rogue trading.

“It is a sad fact that criminals prey on the most vulnerable.”

To donate to Albert, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/helping-albert