EXCLUSIVE Scam victim lost his elderly parents' £25,000 life savings after 'evil' crook pretended to be a Met police detective in sickening new con If you have been a victim of a scam call Action Fraud on 0300 1232040 By Matt Strudwick Published: 07:03 EDT, 6 October 2024 | Updated: 07:32 EDT, 6 October 2024 e-mail 1 View comments A scam victim lost his elderly parents' life savings when an 'evil' crook pretended to be a Scotland Yard police detective in a sickening new con. Semi-retired Jonathan Byrne, 63, has barely slept and says he feels sick to his stomach after being duped into handing over nearly £25,000. The sophisticated con saw scammers posing as 'articulate Detective Lee Mason from Holborn police station', who spoke with a city banker accent, and a member of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The marathon phone call lasted nearly four hours during which Mr Byrne was 'hypnotised' into transferring large sums of cash. But in fact there was no Detective Lee Mason, and the whole thing was a sick con. Mr Byrne realised to his horror he had been scammed when he put the phone down, but he bravely confronted the swindler when they called hours later to try and take even more cash as he told him: 'You are evil.
' Semi-retired Jonathan Byrne, 63, has barely slept and feels sick to his stomach after being duped into handing over nearly £25,000 of his elderly parents' life savings The sophisticated con saw scammers posing as 'articulate Detective Lee Mason from Holborn p.