A WEYMOUTH pensioner says her poor health has been made worse by harassment from a scam caller.

Nancy Wilson, of Bridlebank Way, said she was tormented by scam calls just months after she was diagnosed with blood cancer.

Now other pensioners and vulnerable people are being warned to be on their guard.

Mrs Wilson, 78, who receives monthly treatment, says a man phoned her eight times to ask for her bank details.

She says the caller convinced her that she would be receiving a cheque for £3,240 due to supposedly being mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI).

The distressed pensioner claims the caller sent her to two different local shops to purchase vouchers which he said she needed to retrieve the money.

She said: “It was very distressing for me because I’m not well and it has made me feel worse.

“I believed him at first because I had made a PPI claim in the past and he had left me his contact number in case there were any problems.

“When the man first called he told me I had to go to a local shop in Littlemoor to pay £47 to purchase vouchers that I would need when they delivered my claim money later that day.

“I arrived at the first shop and they had no idea what I was talking about so I called him back and he told me to go to another store.

“When I arrived at the second shop I realised it was a scam so I went to the police.”

She added that she had already heard back from her bank in response to her PPI claim that she was not owed any money.

The worried pensioner, who lives with her husband and has no other family, said she has no idea why the caller told her to visit two different locations.

She said: “I don’t know if he wanted me out of the house, it was very worrying.

“When the police dialled the number the man answered but soon hung up. The day after he kept ringing me to say he needed my bank details.”

Mrs Wilson said she refused and hung up the phone and finally he stopped calling.

The pensioner added: “I just want to speak out about it so other pensioners don’t fall for it.

“I was tormented by the caller, but there was no way I was going to give out my bank details.”

Dorset Police confirmed that Mrs Wilson reported the incident to them before she was referred to Action Fraud.

The trading standards team says people should just hang up on telephone calls from people trying to pursue a claim for PPI.

Officers told the Echo in January that people may also be contacted on email by a scammer trying to find out bank details or wanting money sent.

They advised deleting the email and not to worry as it is likely to have been sent to thousands of addresses.

HOW TO REPORT HARASSMENT

STEVE Proffitt, head of Action Fraud, said: “People should be on their guard and not hand over any money until completely confident a company is legitimate.

“They should never pay upfront to release funds.

“If people are concerned, they should contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

“The simple rule remains – if a call like this comes out of nowhere and seems too good to be true, there’s a serious chance it could be a scam.”

For more information visit actionfraud.police.uk/ Action Fraud was introduced to encourage members of the public and small businesses to report fraud.

The scheme was launched in Dorset in December last year.