Man cons £50,000 of IT equipment out of HP

A conman swindled £50,000 of IT equipment out of HP by simply contacting the company and pretending to need replacements for faulty kit.

Iain Winfield pulled off the scam by pretending to work for several different IT companies and asking for replacements for faulty equipment under the company’s warranty scheme.

According to a report in the Edinburgh Evening News the company never asked for the faulty equipment to be returned and simply sent out fresh kit to Winfield, who promptly sold it on. HP eventually twigged the scam and called the police.

Sheriff Frank Crowe reportedly expressed disbelief that such a large company would hand over such a valuable quantity of equipment without prior checks.

Winfield pleaded guilty to carrying out a fraudulent scheme to obtain electronic goods and will be sentenced at a later date.