A ‘terrible and deceitful’ fraudster who allegedly scammed vulnerable and elderly people out of thousands of pounds has been arrested after police found him hiding in a shed.
Police said that the 39-year-old man who stole approximately £5,000 was wanted for numerous fraud offences.
The suspect cunningly deceived vulnerable members of the public by knocking on their doors and scamming them of money in exchange for doing work to their home which he never completed, it is alleged.
It is believed that the scammer fraudulently took thousands of pounds from multiple victims across Oldham, Greater Manchester.
Greater Manchester Police said that officers located and arrested the suspect in the early hours of September 2 after he was found hiding in a shed in Shaw, Oldham.
Greater Manchester Police said that officers located and arrested the suspect in the early hours of September 2 after he was found hiding in a shed in Shaw. (File image)
The suspect is believed to have carried out the spree of scams across Oldham and was found by police in Shaw (above)
He will remain in police custody while further inquiries are conducted by police officers.
Police described the suspect as a ‘dangerous individual’ and praised officers for detaining him ‘before any further harm could have been done’.
Chief Superintendent Phil Hutchinson, GMP Oldham’s District Commander, said: ‘I would firstly like to extend my thoughts to those who have been affected by this man’s terrible and deceitful actions.
‘We are doing everything we can to ensure those affected receive support and justice following these incidents.
‘Thanks to the public’s invaluable support, sharing the wanted appeal, and providing crucial intelligence, it has all played a pivotal role in this positive outcome.
‘Furthermore, I want to praise our officers excellent work in collating the intelligence and locating this individual quickly before any further harm could have been done from his actions.
Chief Superintendent Phil Hutchinson (pictured), GMP Oldham’s District Commander, condemned the fraudster’s ‘deceitful’ actions
‘The officer’s determination to protect our communities led to the successful arrest of this wanted and dangerous individual.’
In February this year, shocking figures revealed that elderly fraud victims were losing more than £1million a day to scams.
The figures from Action Fraud, uncovered by the Liberal Democrats, showed that in the past four years, those aged 65 and over have lost £1.7 billion – equivalent to £1.2 million a day.
Elderly fraud jumped from 36,105 recorded cases in 2019 to 57,430 cases in 2022 – or more than 157 victims a day.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk