Elderly Spalding man conned out of cash by fake 'DI Douglas'

A man in his 80s from Spalding was tricked into handing over "a sizeable sum of cash" by a cold caller who claimed to be a detective, police have confirmed.

The man was called a number of times by someone pretending to be "DI Douglas from the Met Police" who convinced his target to part with the money.

Lincolnshire Police are treating the incident as "courier fraud" where a caller impersonates a police officer or bank staff member.

It was reported at about 8.30pm on Thursday, October 15, and a Lincolnshire Police spokesman said: "A Spalding man, aged in his 80s, received numerous calls from a man purporting to be DI Douglas from the Met Police.

"The fraudster convinced his victim to hand over a sizeable sum of cash.

"The investigation is ongoing and we are urging anyone with information to get in touch on 101, quoting incident number 458 of October 15.

"We would also urge people to spread awareness of this crime as the more people are aware of this ruthless tactic, the less people are likely to fall victim to it.

"Remember, your bank and the police will never ask you to withdraw money from the bank and hand it over to another person."