Derby postmaster saves elderly man from being scammed

A postmaster’s quick thinking helped prevent an elderly man from having his money stolen by a scammer.

Ravi Kadam said he became concerned when a customer came to the Park Farm Centre Post Office in Derby, holding an envelope containing his bank card.

The postmaster became suspicious and quizzed the man, who said he had been called because his bank card had been “cloned” and needed returning.

Mr Kadam stopped the scam attempt, which he described as “disgusting”.

The man, Mr Kadam said, had been told to send his card to a private address in London that was not associated with any business.

Mr Kadam, who has run the post office in Allestree for about six years, told the man not to send the bank card, and explained the bank would only write to a person if there was a problem and would never ask for details or for a card to be sent over.

“People often come in to say they’ve had a call from the bank or someone knock on their door. It really is disgusting.

“These people have worked really hard all their lives and for these scammers to target them and try to steal their money is awful.”

The incident led to an “action day” – involving police, trading standards and council officers – being held on Wednesday at Park Farm Shopping Centre and Blenheim Parade, where shoppers were warned about scammers and told how to report suspicious phone calls, text messages or emails.

Allestree councillor Ged Potter said: “We wouldn’t have known about the incident if the man had not gone to the post office and told the postmaster he was asked to send his card.

“If he sent the card himself without going to the post office, he could have lost a lot of money.”