UNSUNG HEROES
HERO ELY CABBIE HONOURED AFTER SAVING ELDERLY PASSENGER FROM £3,000 SCAM
Friday 17 April started like any other day for Bridget. She hopped into her cab and headed off to her collect her next fare – an elderly woman going into town. But when the woman got in the car, Bridget could sense something was wrong as she seemed stressed. She spoke to the woman about her plans for the day and she confided in Bridget that she was going to the bank to withdraw some money. She explained how she had received a text message from the bank earlier that morning claiming there had been some suspicious activity on her account and that someone from the fraud department would give her a call. When she spoke to the person from the fraud team, they told her she needed to go to her bank and withdraw £3000 in cash to help with the investigation. They said if the bank questioned what the withdrawal was for, she
phone and called the number back. Someone called “Fiona” answered and told Bridget to take the woman to
the bank
immediately, reiterating she was from the fraud team and this was part of a very important investigation. Bridget informed the woman she would not be going to the bank and instead hung up the call, phoned the police, and took the elderly woman to
the police
should say it was an emergency, her roof had fallen in, and she needed the money for repairs. The woman tried to tell them she didn’t feel comfortable with the request and didn’t want to do it, but they insisted and persisted, bombarding her with calls and texts until she eventually felt so stressed she called a taxi. As soon as Bridget heard this tale, she asked the woman for her
HELP TO PROTECT VULNERABLE & ELDERLY FROM COURIER FRAUD
Taxi, PH and ride-hail drivers - are being used by criminals to transport elderly or vulnerable people to and from banks or jewellers in order to scam them out of their hard-earned money and savings. If you suspect a scam is happening: l Call 999 when it’s safe to do so l Be vigilante if you are asked to carry a potential courier from a local train station to an
20 address and back again
l Be suspicious if you are asked to collect a package from an elderly person. They may appear stressed or in a hurry
l Be suspicious if you carry unusual repeat fares to banks
l Please raise awareness by warning your regular elderly passengers - let’s stop these criminals from ruining people’s lives
station so she could report the attempted fraud. Thanks to Bridget’s quick thinking, the victim didn’t lose any money and an investigation into the attempted courier fraud is now underway. Superintendent Nikki Hall met Bridget at force HQ in Huntingdon on Friday 19 June to present her with a certificate and thank her for her actions, and it just so happened to
coincide with
National Courier Fraud Prevention Week.
Cyber and fraud prevention officer Kate Thwaites said: “Fraud is a devastating and ever-evolving crime, with fraudsters often targeting the most vulnerable in our society. “The community are our eyes and ears and this incident goes to show how important they are in helping to spot and even prevent acts of fraud. “I want to thank Bridget for her quick thinking and the care she showed the victim. Her inquisitive and perceptive mind prevented a vulnerable woman from potentially losing thousands of pounds.
JULY 2026 PHTM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78
