Elderly man tricked out of cash after being told of 'lottery win' in Slough park

An elderly man was conned out of £1,500 after fraudsters approached him in a Slough park to say he had won £5million on the lottery.

A man in his 80s was taking his regular walk around Salt Hill Park at about 11am on Saturday, December 3, when he was approached by a pair of men who told him he had won the money.

The conmen said they would split the winnings three ways and, unaware of how the lottery worked, the victim agreed to go to the bank to claim the ‘winnings’ and got into their car – a silver five door car, described as an ‘older style’.

One of the men brought Asian gold jewellery to the car as a ‘guarantee’ of their intention to split the cash.

To match the gesture, the elderly man handed over a gold bangle and went to the bank to withdraw £1,500 as his token of good faith.

All three men drove to NatWest bank in Buckingham Avenue, where the victim took out the money, which was put in the car’s glovebox alongside the gold bangle.

The fraudsters then said they would drive to get the ‘lottery winnings’. However, as they headed towards Cippenham, the offender in the passenger seat said he was experiencing chest pain and needed medicine.

The driver pulled over close to the Earl of Cornwall pub at the junction of Weeks Drive and Cippenham Lane and asked the victim to go to the chemist in the parade of shops.

As he walked towards the parade, he looked back to see the suspects had driven away. He realised there was no pharmacy in the parade of shops and that he had been conned.

Thames Valley Police has issued a CCTV image of a man (inset) who may be able to help with the investigation and said it is the fifth fraud of its kind in Slough in a year.

Investigating officer PC White of Slough Police Station said: “This was an elaborate scam where the offenders chose their victim and took their time to convince him that they were genuine.

“They did not use any force, violence or threats to get what they wanted. They just convinced him he was going to get a share of a huge lottery win.

“There have been five similar offences in Slough over the past year where older people from the community have been conned out of tens thousands of pounds. There have been similarities where people have been approached by two men claiming to have winning lottery tickets but needing help to cash them.

“We would urge people to be aware of this fraud and particularly family with elderly relatives to make them aware. If something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is exactly that – untrue.

“Also, anyone who recognises the man in the CCTV is asked to get in touch as he may have vital information for our investigation.”

Call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.