‘They destroy your mind’: Notts man speaks out after being conned out of £200,000 online

Video: Notts fraud victim shares his story of being conned out of £200,000

A Nottinghamshire man has said fraudsters ‘brainwashed him’ and ‘destroyed his mind’ after he was conned out of £200,000.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, had lost his pension, half a house that he owned with a relative and other savings because of a con.

He said: “It cost me my job eventually and I was close to having a breakdown.

“I’m back at work now, I’ve dusted myself off and put it to bed but I feel like I have to do something to help through my experiences.

“So if my story can stop just one person from sending money to these criminals then it’s worth it – my advice is the first time you’re asked for one penny… delete.”

It began three years ago when the man, who wished to remain anonymous, searched for US ice hockey tickets when a pop-up appeared.

He tried to cancel it but it took him through to a link where he ended up chatting to a woman called Dora.

A friendship developed over the coming months where she explained her father had died and he had previously worked in a gold mine in Ghana.

She said the company had deferred part of his wages as gold and required payment for security costs otherwise they would keep the gold if the payment wasn’t made by the end of 2016.

The man didn’t send any money for a year but as the end of 2016 approached, he became angry because he believed the company was going to keep assets that belonged to Dora and her brother so he sent £4,000 over to them.

The story then developed – the gold was still in its original format and more money was needed to smelt it so he paid more money across by bank transfer.

He said: “It went from a few grand here to a few grand there and then spiraled.

“I felt like I had to chase and redeem my money otherwise I’d never see it again.”

He was then told the gold needed shaping into bullion bars and needed stamping with unique identification codes.

The man said: “It might seem obvious but it’s honestly such an easy trap to fall into.

“I thought I was pretty streetwise before but there’s a team of people there that prey on people either through romance or like me.

“I was just willing to help and it seemed like a really professional outfit.”

He had video conversations with Dora as well as with a police officer and another person posing to be in the bank with the bars of gold behind him on Skype and What’s App.

Dora then said she’d had a car crash and needed medical bills paying.

The victim was sent images of her in hospital with pipes surrounding her and, believing she would pay him back when her father’s money was released, he paid these bills.

On one occasion when he tried to pay £35,000, it was stopped by a bank in Ghana who thought it was suspicious and refunded him.

The offenders told him it was because it was a personal account and so provided a business account when the money went through.

He began using Western Union who ultimately tried to stop him sending the money so he moved onto MoneyGram and Ria (online transfer services) where he continued to make payments totaling around £200,000.

The final straw snapped for the victim himself when he received yet another email asking for £380,000 in tax in order to release the gold.

At this point, he went to his bank and showed them the email to complain about it and then it all became clear that he had been scammed.

He then stopped sending the money, sought guidance from Action Fraud and Nottinghamshire Police and severed all contact with Dora.

Detective Sergeant Simon Harrison, from Notts Police’s fraud team, said: “With this victim’s case, it was clear that the connections ran oversees mainly in Ghana.

“The investigation continues but cases like this are notoriously very hard to conclude.

“They’re most likely operated by serious organised crime groups who know how to cover their tracks and use methods that they know are untraceable.

“That’s why we’re really concentrating on helping to educate and prevent people from falling victim, because if people know what to look out for, they can shut it down and report it straight away.

“Together we can outsmart these criminals and put an end to these kind of crimes completely.

“Our message is clear if someone you’ve never met asks you for money, don’t give it to them.”

If you’re worried you or someone you know may have been targeted in this way, Notts Police urge you to call Action Fraud on 0300 123 3040.