WHILE I was out recently, my husband was scammed by someone from a foreign country who purported to be an engineer from a major computer company.

The caller sought permission to access his laptop remotely and my husband, who is not as sharp as he used to be, divulged bank and credit card numbers because the caller told him that he had multiple infections on his computer.

The caller even persuaded him to scan his passport and driving licence.

The result was a large debit from our joint account and would have been more if I hadn't come home when I did. I shudder to think what else they would have got.

The bank has been marvellous, but would be quite within their rights not to reimburse us, as we were not vigilant.

The police are fully aware of these scams but all the time vulnerable people are targeted, they will continue to operate.

Anyone who has such relatives would be advised to warn them never to divulge anything over the telephone; the callers are very plausible.

Name and address supplied