NC for this
I'll try to be brief but put all the detail in I can.
DF is late 60s, was scammed years ago on his laptop for a bit of history so is an easy target.
DF had a fall in the garden last September which resulted in a bleed on the brain - CT scan showed the bleed had reabsorbed and no treatment was needed. Since this bump on the head it's as though part of his rational thinking has gone.
Went to Morrison's in April and bought £900 worth of Google Play vouchers (not something he would use), staff flagged it as suspicious and alerted police who chatted with him and brought him to my house as they were concerned he was being scammed and he was vulnerable; they put a public protection order in. He cannot remember buying the cards, it's as though he's wiped it from his mind. He also denies being scammed. He sold his car to raise the funds to pay for the cards. (We didn't know this at the time). I took his debit card and credit cards off him and haven't given him them back. Police circulated photo of him to local stores to inform of scam and for him not to be served.
May the police came out to have a chat with him because I'd found more Google cards. He told the officer a lady was selling him a newish car and he had to give her the cards for the car - I tried to explain that's not how it works and so did the policeman, and he explained about Google scams. DF said he was told if he paid these people in cards they had traced a pension he had years ago, and he wanted to buy the newer car for my DM as she struggles with her mobility with her current one. He also said the number was a Nigerian area code and they were unable to prosecute with it being outside of the UK but this is how they operate. We thought we had got through to him - he handed over his phones and it was as though a weight had been lifted and he was so relaxed for a few months. I have permission to speak to his GP and went to see him who said based on these memory blanks of not remembering, he had to surrender his licence pending investigations. Dementia assessment came back clear, waiting on sleep apnoea assessment next month. SS trading standards got involved after referral was made about him being vulnerable and went out to see DF to talk about scams and to do work with him around recognising.
Beginning of July his phone was lying around password protected but with a WhatsApp notification on it with the number at the top. I took a photo and researched it; Nigerian area code. The photo they were using as their display image was my DF. Middle of July SS rang; he'd tried to buy cards at shop locally, shopkeeper found it worrying the amount he wanted, refused to serve him and rang SS with concerns - they saw CCTV and realised it was DF so rang me.
End of June we noticed he was uptight and we suspected scamming again which he denied. He has been constantly on his phone and has looked grey in colour. Fast forward to today; his phone was lying around so I swiped it - the passcode had been removed and I found messages from this scammer - Nigerian area code, different number to before, and it was a business WhatsApp account with their name on it and a photo of the woman. Messages were awful, constantly telling my dad to buy more and more Google cards, which he did by getting the bus all over the region (with money he does not have). He's asked the scammer to leave him alone numerous times. He said in messages they've scammed him out of £12k, he has made reference to his home address and has also said he's in so much debt the only solution he sees is to end it all. (He mentioned borrowing £2k from a loan shark - I don't know if this is true or not). The scammer still asked for more money. I took the phone. He was obtaining these cards through a debit card account we didn't know he had, which is now empty.
Rang the police (had a cry) lady took statement was lovely, she said I did the right thing taking the phone as evidence was needed, took details and linked all reports together from April to now and said it was very concerning and an officer would ring me.
They rang. Said nothing they can do as it's a number outside the UK and recommended I reported it to action fraud (already had and have with previous incidents) and said they would refer him to SS as a vulnerable person from a safeguarding perspective (this referral has already been done and he's in the system from the last time). I rang back a few hours later once I'd had time to think and mentioned the Interpol website which states scams and crimes from other countries should be reported to local police who can liaise with police in other countries, and mentioned I was massively concerned about his mental health with him threatening to end his life, and about the fact he had referenced his home address, and that I was concerned that someone in the UK Could be using an international number - an officer is going to ring me back tomorrow.
Does anyone have any experience of this or any advice? Or know who I can contact?
Ive literally exhausted everything I can think of. He won't admit he's being scammed, there's no talking to him about it (I think he's embarrassed), he thinks he's lost his phone which I've taken, but I know he can access this scammer on Facebook and over email from what I've read in the messages, and I can't access his accounts. Before this bump on the head nothing got past him at all, but since then his health and declined dramatically and it's as though he's lost all sense of common sense. Hes my DF and such a wonderful DGF to my DDs and it's breaking my heart that I don't know how else I can help him. I also have LPA for both parents but not sure how useful this is with him being declared as having capacity.
Sorry for the massive post!