Britain, besieged by coronavirus, is no country for old men assailed by scammers trading on their isolation and fears

Police and support groups have warned, that in the present coronavirus pandemic, scared and vulnerable old men and women are being preyed on by criminals using a range of coronavirus scams. Four days ago the 'Guardian' reported that : 'The latest figures the National Police Reporting Centre, Action Fraud', show there have been 105 coronavirus-related reports since 1 February 2020, with total losses reaching nearly £970,000.'

Covid-19, presenting us with the greatest public health and economic emergency for a century, is for the crime underworld, a chance in a lifetime to scam a fortune from a captive market of old men and women, under effective house arrest. Neil Tyson, the Director of the consultancy, 'Fraud Management Resource Centre', said : “Criminals will use the telephone, text messages, email, post or knock at the door. They will exploit all five of those. People will knock at doors selling fake test kits or fake cures. People will claim to be acting for the local authority, saying we need contact details in case of emergency. There are examples of that.”

The majority of cases relate to online shopping scams, after people reported that their orders of face masks, hand sanitisers and other products never arrived. Jennifer Allott, from Age UK York, said “We have heard from elderly people who have received letters through the door and people selling shortage products on their doorsteps. There is huge potential for elderly people to be exploited. Our response is to seek to expand our existing services as rapidly as we can, particularly our home shopping service.”

In Manchester, Police say fraudsters are specifically targeting older people who are self-isolating. “They knock on their doors and offer services such as a grocery shop or virus testing, but then trick them into parting with their money,” said DCI Helen Critchley of Greater Manchester Police’s Economic Crime and Cyber unit. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute is currently warning the public not to open their doors to bogus healthcare workers claiming to be offering “home testing” for the coronavirus.

The consumer watchdog Which? said it has seen reports from across the country of "particularly nasty scams" against older people. "One scam has the criminals offering to take their temperature – thus allowing them into the house, where residents can be robbed or worse,” a spokesperson said.

Joel Lewis from Age UK said: “Anxiety in the older age group is particularly high and those older people without the internet are most vulnerable to becoming victims.While we don’t want them not to seek help from the honest community volunteer groups that have sprung up around the country, we want to warn them to be cautious: don’t let anyone into your home or hand over money to people offering to do shopping,” he said.

In Suffolk, there are reports of people reporting to be from British Red Cross, knocking on doors of the elderly and vulnerable, taking their money to do shopping and then not returning.

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed they are investigating one scam in Barnet where leaflets were posted through the doors of elderly people offering to decontaminate their houses. Terry, 74, a local resident who lives alone, received the leaflet through his door from a company called Corona Virus Decontamination Service and rang the mobile number. “I spoke to a man who said his name was Aiden Holmes-Reilly. He said that for £40 a room he and his business partner, Tom Kirk, would clean my house.” His son intervened and said : “When I questioned his claim that they wear quarantine suits that they burn after every visit, he hung up on me.”

Phishers have sent emails that offer purported medical advice to help protect you against the coronavirus. The emails might claim to be from medical experts near Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus outbreak began. One says : “This little measure can save you. Use the link below to download Safety Measures.”

The CTSI warned that a text scam purporting to be from the Government and telling people they had been fined for breaking the lockdown had been reported with a text message saying they have been seen out of their house on more than one occasion, which has resulted in them being fined £35. There is a link for the victim to click where they can enter their cards details.