Fraudster, 27, stole £25k from OAPs by pretending to be Virgin Money
by David Meikle · Mail OnlineA callous fraudster who targeted an elderly couple in a brazen banking scam is facing jail.
Paul McEnhill received money from Thomas Docherty, 73, and Margaret Baillie, 82, after tricking them into transferring almost £25,000.
Mr Docherty, of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, received a phone call from a man who said his name was Malcolm and was head of Virgin Money's CID department.
The caller told the pensioner £5,000 had been swiped from his account and to get it back he would have to make a transaction to help Virgin Money identify a rogue employee who had stolen the cash.
Mr Docherty was told not to tell anyone. When he questioned the mystery caller he was given a number to call where a person would confirm 'Malcolm' as head of Virgin Money's CID unit.
The hoax caller then told Mr Docherty to go to a bank branch and transfer £4,900 and say the money was for his granddaughter.
Mr Docherty was then told his wife's account had been targeted and ordered to transfer a further £9,500. But bank staff became suspicious at the amount of money being moved and called in police in October 2022.
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McEnhill, 27, of Newton Mearns, Renfrewshire, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted the fraud, which saw him obtain a total of £24,140 from his victims.
Police tracked him down after it emerged that he had used his own bank details for one of the transfers.
The court heard that £9,500 has been returned to Mr Docherty.
Sheriff John Speir deferred sentence on McEnhill until November for reports and continued bail.
The sheriff told him: 'Given their age, this must have been a very distressing experience for them both.
'You have pled guilty to what in any view is a predatory financial crime on people who are vulnerable because of their age and you should be under no illusion that all options, including a custodial sentence, are going to be open to me.'
McEnhill's former partner Caitlin Fordyce, 25, had her not guilty plea accepted by prosecutors.
Virgin Money declined to comment.