Bank staff save pensioner from £10,000 used car scam

Staff writer
Updated
The front of a Rolls-Royce Wraith at the company's Berkeley Square showroom in London, as Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has renewed its commitment to Britain after a double-digit jump in UK revenues helped the German-owned company notch up its second highest sales record in over a century.
The front of a Rolls-Royce Wraith at the company's Berkeley Square showroom in London, as Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has renewed its commitment to Britain after a double-digit jump in UK revenues helped the German-owned company notch up its second highest sales record in over a century.

A new system banks can use to alert police of fraud has saved a pensioner from spending £10,000 on a car that didn't exist. Retired lorry driver Barry Fox, 72, went into his local Barclays branch to withdraw a large amount of cash – but concerned staff told the police, who stopped Mr Fox in his tracks.

Mr Fox saw a luxury Rolls-Royce for sale on an internet auction site, and having decided to buy it went in branch to withdraw the cash. A new system called the Banking Protocol allows staff to alert police of potential scams, and summoned an officer to help within an hour – who was able to tell Mr Fox he was about to be scammed.

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