A WORRIED pensioner has spoken out after he was ‘misled’ by a cold-caller – who promised to help stop scam calls.

Wilfred Oldham, from Blackburn, received a telephone call on his landline at around 3.30pm on Friday.

He said the caller claimed to be from a company called Secure Info.

The 78-year-old said: “They said they were a company who wanted to protect people from scam calls and provide people with security, and needed my bank account or credit card details.”

Mr Oldham, of Leyburn Road, said he had not long woken up from a nap and was disorientated.

He said: “I’ve received calls like this in the past and have never handed over my details, but I had just woken up and slipped up and gave them my credit card number. I don’t know why I did it, I just wasn’t thinking.”

Once he came off the phone, Mr Oldham called his bank who confirmed there was a pending transaction for £150.

They put a stop on his card and told him they would prevent the transaction from going through.

Secure Info claims on its website to protect people from data abuse, particularly cold calling.

Their website states: “If you wish to use our service to contact data companies or call centres on your behalf and enforce new legislation we charge a one-off payment of just £150.

“Once we have received your payment, we will post a consent form to you, which you are required to sign in order for us to act of your behalf.

“From the date we receive your signed consent form, you should start seeing a reduction in the number of times your private information is sold in 30 days.”

A comment left on the Who Called Me website, that enables people to check the numbers of unwanted calls, said: “Secure Info Ltd are a cold caller that convinces you to take out their call barring at a cost of £2.50 per month, or a one-off fee of £150, to stop exactly the kind of calls they make.”

Mr Oldham is warning other people, the elderly in particular, not to hand over their details to anyone.

Councillor for Ewood, Cllr Maureen Bateson said: “Even I receive calls like this. However I would tell anyone never to pass on their personal information to anyone. It’s so easy for vulnerable people to fall foul of these types of calls.”

Secure Info refused to comment.