A manhunt is on the way for a fraudster who scammed almost $10,000 out of a 94-year-old man in Melbourne.
Victoria Police released images of a man they believe may be able to assist with enquiries, and while they did not specify the suspect’s ethnicity the man in the images is of Indian or subcontinental appearance.
Monash Crime Investigation Unit detectives said the elderly Mount Waverley man received a phone call on September 19 from a person claiming to be from phone company Telstra.
The man was asked for his banking details and told to leave his bank cards in a letterbox so they could be re-issued.
“The offender then stole the victim’s cards and used them to purchase four new iPhones at a cost of $9,000 at a store in Malvern East and another store in Chadstone later that afternoon,” police alleged in a statement.
The scammer tried to buy another $4,500 worth of electronics from a third store but the transaction was declined.
He then tried to withdraw money from ATMs on High Street in Ashburton and Hamilton Place in Mount Waverley using the elderly man’s cards.
Victoria Police Detective Leading Senior Constable Aaron Gillies described the scammer as “low and heartless”.
“The most concerning thing for us is he’s [the scammer] actually come to the house and taken his cards from the letterbox as well. It’s just heartless,” he said.
The victim’s son told Nine News the experience has “shattered” his elderly father.
“This isn’t just an invasion of his privacy, it’s just a complete upending of what he thinks should be normal,” he said.
He also slammed the stores for accepting the cards.
“They didn’t check the name on the front of the card, they didn’t check the signature on the back with a verified photo ID,” he said.
Header image: A man that police believe may be able to assist with their enquiries (Victoria Police)
