A fraudster serving a three-year prison sentence attempted to defraud an elderly woman by pretending to be her daughter and taking thousands of pounds from her.
Because her own phone was broken, Mario Madeo, 27, used a friend’s phone to send the victim a text message in March of last year, pretending to be her daughter.
Madeo pretended to be the victim and requested for money, telling her that bailiffs were coming to her property later that day and that “she” was having problems with a loan business.
The victim promised that by the end of the day, she would have the requested sum, which exceeded £9,000.
Then, Madeo pretended to be Daniel, a bailiff, and scheduled a visit to her Sawtry house in order to retrieve the money.
The victim called the police right away after checking with her 50-year-old daughter on her regular mobile phone shortly before he was supposed to arrive.
When the police got to her house, they saw Madeo and another man inside a silver car that was parked further down the street.
Given that Madeo was holding a cell phone, one of the cops quickly thought to call the victim’s number, and sure enough, Madeo’s phone rang.
After being detained on suspicion of fraud by false representation, he entered a guilty plea.
Madeo, who does not have a permanent residence, was given a three-year prison sentence at Peterborough Crown Court on Thursday, February 29. A restraining order was also given to him, and his phone and SIM cards were destroyed.
Detective Constable Lauren Kirkup, who conducted the investigation, stated: “I’m delighted we were able to put this callous conman behind bars and prevent further offences. This was fantastic work from our quick-thinking officers who promptly attended the victim’s home.
I’m very glad the victim understood it was a scam before she gave any money and that she allowed us to contact the perpetrator.
Sadly, fraudsters are become more and more skilled in their attempts to defraud their victims of significant sums of money, and this kind of scam is all too typical these days.
They frequently act in a way that makes them appear like family members, usually children, because they are aware that this will make people feel bad for them.
“I hope this demonstrates how seriously we regard these offences, and we’ll keep working hard to try everything in our power to apprehend con artists.
“My initial feeling was one of worry when I first received the message purporting to be my daughter in debt with bailiffs on their way,” the victim, who wishes to remain nameless, continued. Looking back, I should have realised right away that she wouldn’t have any debt because we instilled in her a sound financial education at a young age.
But at that moment, your thoughts aren’t operating rationally. Alarms didn’t start to go off until much later in the day, after a conversation with the purported bailiff to arrange for the money to be collected.
I have nothing but praise for the cops; they arrived so swiftly and could not have taken better care of me. They were just amazing. Their labour and the outcome of this case have me utterly delighted.
I’m glad I didn’t give them any money and that I understood it was a scam, but regrettably, not everyone is as fortunate, and these con artists are becoming more and more skilled in their methods. I would advise everyone to consider and confirm their information again before complying with a request or sending over any money, as they specifically target elderly and more susceptible individuals who are not as tech-savvy.
Additionally, I would advise you to never be afraid to phone the police; they are available to assist you and your information may just help them find the offender.
