Sick new fraud targeting Brit retirees in Spain… and the cruel ‘family photo’ method tricking OAPs to sign savings away

BRIT retirees have for years flocked to Spain to enjoy the fruits of their labour in the Costa sunshine. But if loneliness sets in, sick fraudsters are lurking to strike with ruthless efficiency – and with distressing new tricks up their sleeves. Three Brits being arrested on suspicion of tricking a 91-year-old pensioner into handing over thousands while she lived alone in Spain Credit: Footage appears to show a suspect taking an elderly pensioner to the bank to take out cash Credit: Supplied Frail OAPs are being ruthlessly manipulated and tricked into handing over their hard-earned retirement savings. And a chilling new con has emerged in Spain targeting helpless pensioners – with sick tactics ranging from secret hidden cameras to a horribly cruel “family photo” method. This week cops arrested three Brits accused of isolating a 91-year-old widowed British woman so they could empty her bank accounts and trick her into changing her will. Now, The Sun can reveal the cruel tactics employed by the suspects – such as forging fake friendships with sly photos – in a “well-planned” campaign of emotional blackmail. Other horror tricks police are probing include redirecting a pensioner’s bank account and personal correspondence to an external mailbox – and forcing them to make changes to their wills. Cops in the Costa Blanca claim the methods are aimed at “psychologically conditioning” victims so they can steal all their cash. One of the detained suspects even runs a daytime centre on the Costa Blanca offering elderly expats companionship, police sources confirmed. A second suspect was the OAP’s next-door neighbour. The 67-year-old neighbour has had to find alternative accommodation after a judge probing him issued a restraining order banning him from staying in his old apartment. The third unnamed suspect is a 62-year-old British woman who was working as a carer for at least two pensioners. The 64-year-old suspect linked to the day centre can be seen holding her arm and opening the door for her Credit: Supplied Detectives warned Brit OAPs in Spain to take extra care when talking about money with carers, neighbours or new friends Credit: Simon Jones The campaign of alleged blackmail the trio subjected the expat to was laid bare by Civil Guard investigators. They described it as the “most complete fraud” they had dealt with – but by no means the first. The lead detective told the Sun: “We received information suggesting the 64-year-old Brit who runs the care provider company was known as someone with a prior background of using his professional connections to take advantage of elderly people. “We checked and couldn’t find any police record or criminal convictions. “But the suspects’ modus operandi points to a well-planned campaign where nothing was left to chance. “I can’t say at this stage how exactly the relationship between the three suspects started and developed and who suggested what and when, but the man that for us was the leader is the neighbour. “He was the one who had cameras trained on this poor woman’s front door and was monitoring exactly who went in and out of her home.” Footage we obtained exclusively shows one of the occasions the man who runs the OAP day care centre took the woman to the bank to take out cash. An estimated 70,000-100,000 British pensioners live in Spain Credit: Alamy The neighbour is also understood to have accompanied her on other days. In the CCTV images, the 64-year-old suspect linked to the day centre can be seen holding her arm and opening the door for her before walking in behind and appearing to point towards one of the ATM machines. It was just one of the clues something was amiss as far as police were concerned, because the pensioner always paid for everything by card before meeting the trio accused of trying to seize her assets. As well as deceitfully obtaining around £17,000 in just over six months, detectives have accused them of changing the locks on her home. They are also accused of stealing her passport, controlling her phone and blocking the phone numbers of friends and family so she couldn’t contact anyone. Their psychological conditioning of the pensioner allegedly included the strategic placing of photos of themselves with her around her home. They wanted to “reinforce an emotional bond” that in reality didn’t exist, prosecutors argue. The Civil Guard accused the trio earlier this week of trying to take the elderly woman abroad to continue exercising control over her and gain access to other assets. Today the force told The Sun in an exclusive interview they had planned to take her to Malaysia where she had banked a large amount of her cash. The trio “struck the jackpot” after supposedly tricking her into changing her will to benefit them instead of her loved ones in the UK. Shameless fraudster Pamela Gwinett was jailed for orchestrating a cruel plan to steal £300,000 from a wealthy, dementia-stricken widow Credit: PA Joan Green, 89, was gradually convinced that her own family neither wanted nor loved her and scammed out of her own cash Credit: Supplied She was allegedly persuaded into signing documents to accept her late husband’s inheritance but was instead making changes to her will. The situation was reversed following the arrests. Although they have been released on bail, a judge is continuing to investigate all three on suspicion of aggravated fraud, coercion, disclosure of secrets, harassment and membership of a criminal group. They are yet to decide whether to formally charge all three and have recommended a trial after finishing the probe. Last month, shameless fraudster Pamela Gwinett was held in Tenerife after going on the run and was extradited to the UK to start a six-year prison sentence for raiding £300,000 from the life savings of a vulnerable OAP. The 63-year-old befriended Joan Green, 89, and gradually convinced the vulnerable pensioner that her own family neither wanted nor loved her. She tricked her victim into handing over control of her finances while keeping the OAP locked up in her home like a caged animal in Chorley, Lancashire. In both recent cases the first alarm bells were sounded by the pensioners’ families. Today, the lead Civil Guard detective said it wasn’t the first crime of its kind he had tackled and he didn’t expect it to be the last. Earlier this month the same force arrested a 51-year-old man in Elche, just south of Alicante, accused of taking advantage of his work as a carer to swindle an elderly couple out of more than £40,000. Police say he created false documents including fake invoices to justify the cash he took out of their bank accounts. Officers discovered a secret drugs lab in the garage of his home after arresting him and subsequently held two other suspects. In May last year a couple in their early forties were arrested in Rojales, also on the Costa Blanca, on suspicion of emptying the bank account of a British OAP they had befriended after he was taken sick and died. The pair were accused of taking advantage of his vulnerability and gaining access to his savings and spending around £75,000 of his money on themselves. The police investigation began after a concerned relative of the Brit complained his bank balance was down to zero and cash had disappeared from it while he was in hospital and even after he had passed away. The detective who spearheaded the latest investigation said: “We’re not talking about just a couple of things. “The three people we say operated as a criminal gang carried out a pretty comprehensive and premeditated operation. “We say everything they did was designed to exploit and isolate their alleged victim as part of a plan to obtain her money and other assets. “She lived alone and had recently been widowed. The British trio were well aware of the fact she had a lot of money, more than the average citizen. “They filed a formal complaint and that’s when we launched our investigation. Physically this woman is very active but she suffers from memory loss and had two carers. He added: “Although I’ve rarely come across a fraud as detailed and comprehensive as this one, I personally and other colleagues have investigated these sorts of crimes in the past and unfortunately fully expect to do so again in the future. “It’s important people avoid keeping any written notes containing things like their PIN numbers anywhere near their cards or in their bags and keep financial and personal matters totally separate. “However good a friend someone might be, don’t let them invade your personal space, which might be for instance them being beside you when you’re taking money out at a cash machine. “If you have to open your home to someone try to make sure you and only you have a copy of the keys. “If you need someone to help take care of you, confide first and foremost in your family, who are the ones who are likely to be most interested in yourwell-beingg and can choose the people who can assist you if they can’t do it personally. “And of course with the job I do I would always say to people who are concerned, ‘Don’t hesitate in coming to see us to report your worries’. “We can make checks and if we’re satisfied nothing is amiss we can reassure them that’s the case. The detective urged any families or the victims themselves to always speak up if they have any concerns.