Sunshine Coast detectives will travel to Sydney today to extradite a 22-year-old foreign national who police say scammed a 92-year-old man out of $30,000 in savings.
Detective Senior Constable Russell Connor of the Sunshine Coast Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) said police will allege the 22-year-old was behind a sophisticated scam which saw officers launch a protracted investigation back in January 2020.
“We will be alleging that the elderly gentleman was firstly contacted by phone, advising him his accounts had been hacked and compromised, before three men drove from Sydney to his Sunshine Coast home on January 28, 2020,” said Det Snr Const Connor.
“They pretended to be from his bank and convinced him to hand over bank cards and account details before emptying out his accounts.
“This was cowardly behaviour preying on one of the most vulnerable members of our community. For three men to allegedly travel to the Sunshine Coast and do this while looking him in the eye, is staggering,” he said.
Police will allege the three men obtained around $30,000 in cash and property from various ATMs and retail outlets across the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast before fleeing back to New South Wales the following day.
The other two men, also foreign nationals, allegedly involved are currently under restraint in NSW and therefore Queensland arrest warrants are unable to be executed at this time.
