Man Jailed for Courier Fraud Scam After Conning Guildford Woman Out of £10,000

Published on: 8 Feb, 2019
Updated on: 8 Feb, 2019

A man has been jailed for helping a courier fraud scam that left a Guildford woman devastated, conned out of £10,000 of her savings.

Darryl Poole, 24, of London, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 months at Guildford Crown Court yesterday (February 7).

In June 2015, when the woman, in her 70s, had a phone call from a man claiming to be a police officer, “Sergeant West”. He told her he was leading an undercover investigation into a fraud at a local bank and said he needed her help.

He persuaded the victim to withdraw £10,000 and arranged for someone to collect the money from her home. But the lady later realised she had been duped and alerted police.

After lengthy investigation, detectives discovered Poole on CCTV buying a top-up card for a phone in a store in London and he was identified by a Police Community Support Officer from the Metropolitan Police. This phone was used to call the victim.

After Poole’s arrest, officers tracked his personal mobile phone which showed that he had travelled from London to Guildford at the time the money was picked up from the victim.

Poole was never identified by the victim as the man who collected the money, but he admitted he had travelled with others who were involved.

Guildford Detective Inspector Pete Howgate said: “This was a meticulous and painstaking investigation which has taken more than three years to reach its conclusion.

But the sentence handed to Poole today has proved that we will simply not tolerate these despicable and cowardly conmen who target vulnerable victims with the sole intention of stripping them of their life savings.

“The fact that Poole has been brought to justice today will bring enormous relief to the victim, who has been massively affected by what has happened to her. I would like to thank her for her bravery and patience during this lengthy process.”

The victim, whose name is withheld, said: “When I realised I had been the victim of a scam I immediately lost my confidence. I am ashamed that I fell for such a simple fraud. I trusted that the caller was a detective and thought I was trying to help.

“I feel very naive and stupid for being taken in by a voice on the phone and I am still wary of any calls I get. I feel like I have I let my husband and my family down.

“It was our golden wedding anniversary a few weeks after the incident but instead of the large celebration we had been planning, it was a more muted occasion which had a large shadow hanging over it. Only our children knew what had happened as I was so embarrassed to tell anyone else.

“I know we won’t get the money back and we will have to come to terms with losing such a large amount but I am glad that some sort of justice has come of this horrid affair.”

For more information about how to avoid being defrauded, go to: https://www.surrey.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/fraud/personal-fraud/prevent-personal-fraud/

For other help, go to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre, at https://actionfraud.police.uk/