Vince Cable

Elderly residents are being targeted.

MP Vincent Cable described it as "a particularly nasty and cunning scam designed to trick them out of thousands of pounds". A letter, apparently handwritten, is sent (from Holland) by someone called Donna Esmeralda referring to "a special cheque"; a prize of £816, which only needs a return cheque of £24 to secure ('to cover costs'), with the prospect of another for £46,800 to come. Vincent Cable says: "the style is both intimate and intimidating and I can imagine that anyone who is not aware of the scams around phoney prizes might be taken in by it."

In this case Vincent Cable was asked for advice by an elderly lady in a residential home in Hampton who received the letter from Donna Esmeralda addressed to her husband who had died eight years ago. He has alerted the Trading Standards Officer and the Office of Fair Trading: "It is really despicable that companies exist simply by preying on vulnerable members of society. Unfortunately they seem to be out of reach of the law."