Latest news with #pensioner
Malay Mail
4 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Tangkak pensioner transfers RM108,520 to scammers posing as police and MCMC officers
TANGKAK, June 2 — A 58-year-old female pensioner lost RM108,520 to a scam syndicate. Tangkak police chief Supt Roslan Mohd Talib said the woman claimed it all started on May 9 when she was contacted by two men, one of them claiming to be an officer from the Communications and Multimedia Commission and the other, who claimed to be a police officer. He said the woman was told that she was wanted in a fraud case involving investments and non-existent loans, and to transfer the money in her account to a given bank account to facilitate investigations of the case. 'The woman did as was told and transferred her money, in 16 transactions, to two given bank accounts, suspected to be ' mule accounts,'' he said in a statement today. Roslan said the woman lodged a police report yesterday, and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code. He also advised the public who are victims of fraud to immediately contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 as an initial action to block the outflow of money from the suspect's account. — Bernama
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pensioner has nearly £1,000 stolen in betting shop
A pensioner has had nearly £1,000 stolen from him in a betting shop. The incident happened on May 21 at the Ladbrokes store in King's Lynn. In the early afternoon, the 80-year-old had secured winnings totalling £950 after betting on three horse races. The man from Congham, who does not want to be named, said: "The bloke could see that I was collecting my money from the counter and said to me 'you have been lucky'. "I turned my back and felt his hand in my pocket and then he was gone. READ MORE: "The bloke went off like a rocket, another customer charged after him but could not catch him". The theft happened after the suspect lost "the biggest part of £2,000 playing on the machines". Norfolk Constabulary has been made aware of the incident and a spokeswoman for the force said enquiries are ongoing. "It is not often that a punter like me gets a win," the pensioner added. "It was two weeks of my pension money, which is what hurts the most."
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Pensioner ‘devastated' after losing his £17,000 retirement savings to ‘cowboy builder'
A pensioner says he has been left unable to 'trust anyone' after being scammed out of £17,000 by a cowboy builder. Eric Jordan, 70, was cold-called at his home in Kettering, Northamptonshire, in October 2024 by a builder who pointed out a loose ridge tile on his roof and offered to fix it for £3,000. After seemingly fixing the roof, Eric claims the builder then carried out additional work without permission, damaging the bathroom ceiling and leaving the house in a "right state". Despite the work being incomplete, Eric claims the builder then demanded £17,000, which Eric paid despite it being most of his retirement savings, forcing him to continue working. The builder soon stopped showing up to complete the work. A few weeks later, Eric said the builder returned, demanding an extra £10,000 in cash, which Eric refused to pay, and he has not heard from him since. Eric believes the botched job worsened his health, as he suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was hospitalised for a week in November 2024 after struggling to breathe, which he attributes to the stress and the builder's failure to use dust sheets. His partner, Lorna Campbell, 69, who has been out of work since 2016 due to diabetic neuropathy, has also been very 'stressed' and said she hates her life because of 'what they did'. 'I'm just absolutely devastated, I'm lost for words – it's made me and my partner ill,' he said. 'We feel like we can't trust anyone. I was planning on retiring at the end of last year but now all this money has gone for nothing and I have to carry on working so we have enough money to live.' In October 2024, Eric stepped outside his house and saw a builder knocking on his neighbour's door. With no answer, the builder instead approached Eric and pointed out a ridge tile on his roof that was poking in the air, allowing water inside, which Eric had not noticed. Eric agreed for the builder to fix the roof, which ended up costing £3,000 and was completed without any issues. He said: 'There was definitely a tile sticking out, I just did not notice it until he pointed it out… I think he saw an easy target.' Then, Eric said the builder suggested additional work. Eric claims the builder said he noticed a piece of concrete missing on the gulley of his house and that he could 'repoint the walls' by scraping out the mortar from the bricks, and redoing it to look neater. Eric said that, without asking for permission, the builder proceeded with the work. 'Without saying yes or no, he started doing it, but he's ripping out the original plaster that was in the joints, and started just pushing stuff in it,' Eric explained. 'Basically, it looks like a right mess. 'I've got all one side of a wall that looks like a kid's been around there with Play-Doh and been filling in holes.' Despite his frustration, Eric asked the builder to fix a hole in the bathroom ceiling. 'He pulled at the hole, and pulled the rest of the ceiling down,' Eric said. 'He disconnected the electrics so the shower can't be used, and it was half painted, and there's dust everywhere – it's in a right state.' Lorna added: 'It's diabolical, when I go into the bathroom I want to scream…my life has gone from happiness to sadness because of this, I hate my life because of what they did, it's making me feel seriously ill. 'I'm fearful of them coming back or if I report them, what they'd do. 'They left plaster everywhere and there's still so much dust. 'We pulled up the carpet in there because they got plaster all over it.' Eric claims the builder then began demanding money before finishing the additional work. Feeling he had no choice, Eric paid a bill of £17,000, which was most of his savings. However, after receiving the payment, Eric said the builder stopped turning up. Eric said the builder returned to his door a few weeks later, demanding an extra £10,000 in cash, which Eric refused to pay. At the time, the builder parked his van outside Eric's home and police walking by asked him to move it, and the builder saw this as a sign to leave, driving off. Eric said police informed him they had contacted Trading Standards, having received multiple complaints about the builder in the area, and advised Eric to report any further contact. Eric said he has not heard from the builder since. He claims to have since discovered that several neighbours were also scammed by the same individual, who cannot be named for legal reasons. The individual has gone by many different names, closing down one business only to set up another, and Eric said one neighbour told him they understand the individual has even changed his legal name by deed poll. Eric said: 'He was also very careful to not give us anything with his name on it and he changed his phone number – he never came back to finish the work and we couldn't contact him.' In November, Eric said he was taken to hospital after he suddenly became unable to breathe – his partner called an ambulance, and he remained in hospital for one week. Eric has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and believes the stress and dust from the work triggered the episode – the builder did not put any dust sheets down while working. 'It was very scary, I literally could not get a breath,' Eric recalled. Eric's partner, Lorna, has been 'suffering a lot too' and is 'stressed' because she wants the work repaired and completed, but 'won't trust any builders'. In the meantime, Eric has set up a fundraising page to cover the costs of future repairs and get back some of the money 'wasted' on the builder who did not complete the work.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Bedbound pensioner's toe is chewed off by a RAT while 88-year-old was waiting for council to send an exterminator round
A bedbound pensioner had her toe chewed off by a rat while she waited for the council to send a pest exterminator to her home. The 88-year-old's daughter, Andrea Scott, first raised the infestation with the Labour-run local authority after seeing one of the rodents run from an armchair into the kitchen of her mother's home. Ms Scott was shocked when they told her that her elderly mother would have to pay £297 for the council to send round a pest exterminator - a cost out of reach for the diabetic pensioner, who has not been named. Even once she had paid for the treatment herself Ms Scott, who lives in a council-supplied house in Southampton, Hampshire, was given a date weeks away for the exterminator's visit. In the meantime she laid her own rat traps and poison in her mother's home to try and catch the rodents but none were caught. The situation drastically worsened on May 20 when Ms Scott got a call from her mother's carers who had discovered that a rat had chewed through the 88 year old's sock and the top of her toe, including the toenail. Ms Scott, 56, said the carers 'screamed' when they saw the puddle of blood on her mother's bed and that the whole family are still in shock, more than a week later. 'I was horrified and a week on our family are still in shock,' she said. 'Mum is diabetic meaning she has no feeling in her legs - the only positive is that she was not in any pain. 'She is currently in hospital - she just keeps saying "I can't believe what has happened". 'The council chose not to support a vulnerable old lady and look at what has happened.' Ms Scott continued: 'Why should any council tenant be forced to pay to get rid of the rats? 'Her carers found a puddle of blood and screamed when they saw what had happened. 'It's been so traumatic for mum and the whole family - I won't ever let her back in that house. 'From the research we have done it's the bedbound who are most vulnerable.' Neighbours of the 88-year-old told Ms Scott that they had also been having problems with rats. A Southampton City Council Spokesperson said: 'We take all reports of pest sightings seriously and encourage residents to report them to us using our website so that our team can assess the situation and work with the resident to deal with the issue. 'In response to a report made on Tuesday 27 May which raised the issues of a rat infestation and potentially unsafe electrics, the council are attempting to arrange an urgent visit from both the pest and electrical teams to investigate this issue further. 'Our thoughts are with the individual and we will continue to work with the family to ensure her mother's home is safe and free from pests.'
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Woman lost £100 in Gatwick Airport drop-off charge scam
A West Sussex woman is warning others to be wary after losing £100 while attempting to pay for an airport drop-off Williams, 72, said she feared she fell victim to a scam after transferring funds to an account later revealed to be unrelated to Gatwick said she was told over the phone by a separate company, Car Parking Hub, that she had to pay a penalty fee for not paying the charge within 20 firm which Ms Williams paid said it had begun the refund process. Gatwick Airport passengers have until midnight the following day to pay the drop-off fee, which is £7. It advises passengers to go through its official website to pay the Williams, from West Hoathly, near East Grinstead, had dropped her friend off at the airport at 07:30 BST. A few hours later, she attempted to pay the fee, she said she was unable to enter her car registration into a website, believing it was the official one. That website has now been taken Williams returned to the search engine page and found a phone number to said she was told she must pay a penalty fine as she "did not pay within 15 to 20 minutes", and that the "terms and conditions had changed on 15 April". 'All logic went out the window' "I was furious. All logic went out the window because I was so cross," she said."I thought, 'I must get this paid, otherwise I'm going to be fined more money'."She added: "I'm a pensioner - £100 is food for a week or two. And if they've done this to other people too, that's the top and bottom of it."Gatwick Airport has confirmed it has not received the £100 paid by Ms Williams. It said that any website claiming a fee needed to be paid sooner than midnight the next day was likely to be phone number Ms Williams had called was a sponsored link and associated to the website website's link contains a spelling error of 'gatewick' instead of 'Gatwick'. Gatwick Airport said it was aware of some fraudulent websites which claim to be official payment channels for airport drop-off charges."Our teams work diligently to identify and report these websites when they appear, and ensure they are taken down swiftly," a spokesperson Parking Hub said it had initiated the refund process. Ms Williams has not yet received her money back.
