New warning over investment scams as pensioners conned out of millions
New warnings are being issued over investment scams as gangs use Britain's obsession with property to swindle elderly victims out of millions.
Hundreds of people have been convinced over the phone to buy land that would supposedly make them a healthy profit when sold on to developers, an ITV investigation has found.
The gangs buy cheap land located on flood zones and areas contaminated by industrial waste before cold-calling their victims.
They use high-pressure sales techniques and often falsely claim the land will be granted planning permission, turning the investor's money into a healthy profit.
It’s a highly-lucrative trade, providing the gangs with more than £200 million a year.
If you believe you have been a victim of fraud and would like to report the crime, or seek advice and support on a fraud, please contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via their dedicated website www.actionfraud.police.uk.
City of London Police, the National Lead Force on Fraud, has issued some strong advice to people contacted by these cold-callers.
One gang managed to con £10 million out of more than 200 victims.
Clive Griston and Matthew Noad, the masterminds behind the scam, hid behind a series of false identities and dissolved their fake companies in a bid to avoid arrest.
One of their victims, 72-year-old Judith Wilkins, was repeatedly targeted when she was at her most vulnerable - just after both her husband and her brother died.
The fraudsters claimed Mrs Wilkins had entered into a verbal contract with them and threatened her with legal action.
Eventually the widow reluctantly gave them £10,000, which she told ITV's Fraud Squad was most of her life savings.
It was the testimonies of their victims that helped convict Griston and Noad, proving that what they were selling was just a lie.
In December 2013, before the case went to court, Griston and Noad pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and money laundering and received a reduced sentence of four years and eight months.
Griston used his girlfriend, Kerry Golesworthy, to launder his millions. She was found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to three and a half years.
Noad's parents, Roger and Linda, were also found guilty of money laundering. Roger was given a sentence of three and a half years while Linda received a two-year suspended sentence.
Watching a video of Griston and Golesworthy dancing around to the Jessie J hit "Price Tag" with £50 notes in their hands, Detective Clancy Tassell called it "heartbreaking."
"They just haven't got a care in the world. If victims watched that, they would just be devastated," she said.
Watch the full Fraud Squad report on ITV tonight at 9pm
Please note: The people blurred in the videos above have not been accused or convicted of any crimes relating to content of the ITV Fraud Squad programme.