Angus minister warns residents after being conned by mail scam
ByThe Courier Reporter
A minister has warned residents in Angus of the dangers of mail scams after revealing he was conned out of cash.
The Rev David Mumford, rector of St Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Brechin, donated to a mailing scheme asking to give money to a project in Africa.
The scam involved transferring money to an account to pay for a student to attend a medical school in Uganda. Mr Mumford has now encouraged residents who have given money to mailing scams to come forward.
He said: “I was sent a letter, which said a trainee nurse required money to finish her training. It seemed a reasonable nursing report I was sent.
“The letter was written very clearly and immediately appealed to me.”
But Mr Mumford eventually realised the letter was a fake.
He said: “I telephoned friends in Africa who said the nursing school did not exist. I then knew it was a scam so I advise people to look out for these letters.”
Police in Angus are working to prevent any further scams in the area. Operation CARPUS has been launched after the National Trading Standard’s Scam Hub highlighted to police that 200 people in Angus are at risk of giving money to criminals.
Angus minister warns residents after being conned by mail scam