Fraudster, 27, stole £25k from OAPs by pretending to be Virgin Money

by · Mail Online

A 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. 

Paul McEnhill (pictured) received money from Thomas Docherty, 73, and Margaret Baillie, 82, after tricking them into transferring almost £25,000
McEnhill, 27, of Newton Mearns, Renfrewshire, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court (pictured) and admitted the fraud, which saw him obtain a total of £24,140 from his victims

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.

Read More

I fell victim to a scary new phone scam

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.