Amber Rudd today revealed how her late father was conned by criminals who posed as bank staff and police to trick him into parting with his cash.
The Home Secretary said her father Tony, a well-connected former stockbroker, was left feeling ‘humiliated’ after the elaborate scam.
Ms Rudd, whose father died aged 93 two days before she filled in for Theresa May in a televised election debate, said the experience made her more determined to crack down on fraud.
She said her elderly father, who was blind, was phoned by a con-artist posing as a bank manager who pretended there had been suspicious activity on his account.
Two scammers then turned up to his house masquerading as police officers and convinced him to ‘flush out the fraudsters’ by using his credit card to buy them an expensive watch.
Amber Rudd, pictured with her father Tony, has told how he was scammed by con artists who posed as police and a bank manager into using his credit card to buy them an expensive watch in an elaborate scam
Home Secretary Amber Rudd stepped in to fill in for Theresa May in a BBC Genera Election debate in May just two days after her father died aged 93
But when he handed it over to them they disappeared, leaving him feeling deeply embarrassed when he realised he had fallen victim to a fraud.
Ms Rudd told the Evening Standard: ‘Being the victim of fraud can feel traumatic and embarrassing. I know this only too well as my late father was a victim of fraud.
‘One day he was called by someone he thought was from his bank saying they had noticed some odd behaviour on his card. Had he bought an Apple computer today? No, he said. Right — we will do more investigations.’
She said her father was ‘concerned and no fool’ and so called the bank back himself and asked to speak to the manager, who he knew by name and had met before.
She added: ‘”Yes hello Mr Rudd,” said the manager “… yes it’s a genuine call that you’ve received. Could you help us catch the fraudsters? We will send some officers who can advise you how you can help.”
‘A few hours later they arrived, persuaded him to take his credit card, get in a car with them, with his carer as he was blind, go to a shop and purchase an expensive watch “to flush out the fraudsters”.
‘He was asked to hand over the watch to the police officers who then disappeared.
‘It was a con. He hadn’t been speaking to bank staff, he’d been speaking to fraudsters all along. It took a while for the penny to drop and he was naturally mortified.
Amber Rudd, pictured outside No10 yesterday, said her father’s experience has left her more determined to use her role as Home Secretary to crack down on fraud
‘He laid low feeling humiliated and embarrassed.’
Ms Rudd said her father’s horror at falling prey to the scam has left her even more determined to ensure the criminals behind it are caught.
She said it is ‘not fair that there is money going into the pockets of criminals .. at the expense of the vulnerable.’
She added: ‘I want as few families as possible to experience what my father went through.’
Ms Rudd’s father died in May this year – just 48 hours before the Home Secretary stood in for the PM at one of the televised leaders debates ahead of the election.
Her father was a well-connected stockbroker who also appeared as an extra in the British film classic Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Official figures show fraud costs the UK £6.8 billion a year – the equivalent to around £255 per household or more than £100 per person.
And there are growing concerns that elderly people are increasingly being targeted by con artists carrying out the elaborate phishing scams.