An elderly Indian-origin couple from Leicester, who were conned out of a large chunk of their savings when they booked a flight to Ahmedabad only to discover the tickets were fake, are publicising their experience as a cautionary tale for others.Dinesh, 80, and Shashikala Jansari, 78, realised they had lost over 2,500 pounds to an online fraud at the check-in desk at London’s Heathrow Airport.In an interview with BBC Leicester, the couple revealed their shock and dismay at being told they had been tricked by a fake page that had moved the booking process to a WhatsApp conversation with an account dubiously named “Fly Expedia”.“It was a very good deal, and the name said Expedia, which my husband had heard about. I don’t know how [the scammer] got his number, but he started chatting on WhatsApp, and my husband booked with them,” Shashikala told BBC Leicester this weekend.From being excited about returning to India after an eight-year gap, the Jansaris were left stranded at the airport until their son came back in the car to collect them for a two-hour return journey back to Leicester.“We were in shock. I said ‘no, it can’t be’,” recalls Shashikala, on being told the tickets were “fake”.The scam was registered with Report Fraud and the couple also contacted their bank. But because the fraud involved a direct bank transfer, it is unlikely their money can be recovered as some additional protections associated with credit cards do not apply in this case.The couple did eventually manage to travel to Ahmedabad a little later, booking the trip through a travel agent in Leicester this time.“Scammers are very clever. I don’t know how they do it, but they use old people like us. I would advise people to ask the younger generation to help them — scammers are everywhere,” warned Shashikala.She has since joined sessions run by Healthy Living at Rushey Mead Recreation Centre in Leicester, which offers anti-fraud advice such as double-checking who customers are dealing with online, having strong passwords and only using trusted websites.“AI (artificial intelligence) is a big topic in itself, people are worried about hacking into their Facebook accounts, mimicking family voices saying ‘mum and dad I need money’. It’s a big area that people need to be educated in,” said Healthy Living’s Bharat Kanabar.Leicestershire Police warned that fraud and cybercrime made up half of reported crimes in England and Wales, urging people not to rush into purchases online.“They use the technology to pretend to be someone else — there’s a lot of software called spoofing software, which they can use to pretend to be presenting as different phone numbers, different text message numbers, and then they share them links that will only work for that person that go off to different websites,” said Nicole McIntyre, the police force’s fraud team supervisor.“Go away and ask some trusted family and friends for some advice. Check with the real person. If they’re asking for money, go and check with the genuine person and make sure you’re feeling happy and confident before you transfer any of your hard-earned money,” she said.