THE danger of “boiler-room” scams has been highlighted by the case of a North Yorkshire pensioner who lost his life savings to a cold-calling conman.

The 86-year-old has urged other share dealers to learn from his mistake after losing £60,000 to a man he only knew as “Peter”.

“He pleaded with me to put more and more money in. He was very smooth, very plausible.”

The pensioner, from Hambleton, invested the money hoping he would have more to pass on to his daughter However, when family members investigated they found the shares in three foreign companies were virtually worthless.

The pensioner, who has asked to remain anonymous, believes he was targeted after applying for information from a company called Wills and Co.

The stockbrokers sent a brochure and the investor filled in a form, but heard nothing more.

He then received a call from a company called Ellis Capital Management, claiming to be based in Mayfair, London.

The pensioner said: “I always dealt with this guy called Peter. He said there was a good investment in a company called Cosmoseis based in Dubai or somewhere. He said the shares would quickly increase in value. The idea was that I should hold them for a year, then sell them and Ellis would take 2.5 per cent.”

The man later phoned the pensioner again to tell him the shares were going up in value and he should invest more money.

“He pleaded with me to put more and more money in. He was very smooth, very plausible,” said the pensioner.

Boiler room share scams involve investors being sold worthless shares at inflated prices that are impossible to sell.

Last year, Wills and Co was closed down by the Financial Services Authority for mis-selling shares.