West Mercia Police have seen a recent increase in reports of fraudsters operating in Herefordshire, claiming to be from various police services around the country.
They are mostly targeting the old and vulnerable and we would urge everyone to tell someone, by passing on the information about the bogus callers to relatives, friends and neighbours who may not have heard about the local telephone scam in operation. Officers are urging the public to get in touch with elderly and vulnerable friends and family to warn them of the risk and to know what to do.
The latest scam: Across Herefordshire in the last week there have been several successful and unsuccessful attempts to defraud people using telephone scams. In some cases there have been thousands of pounds successfully taken from the elderly and vulnerable residents by criminals pretending to be police officers.Courier Fraud as it is known, can work in the following way:
- A phone caller pretending to be a police officer who is investigating unidentified activity/ fraud in their bank account and that they must cooperate with the ‘investigation’.
- The victim is then persuaded to withdraw funds and hand them over to the ‘investigators’, either by some remote means or in person to a courier.
- The victim is told that if the bank cashier queries the large withdrawal that they are to say it is a gift or buying a large item like a car or household repairs
- Alternatively the victim may be asked to hand over bank cards, vouchers or other valuable items. They may also be asked to transfer funds to another account, which is controlled by the fraudsters.
Detective Sergeant Jon Cooper said: “These scams can be extremely convincing and manipulative. The fraudsters may give (alleged) crime numbers, investigation details, and job titles. They will always claim that the transaction must be done in secret. The fraudsters condition their victim not to trust bank branch staff, which can make it hard for those staff to help.
“These calls are not genuine and payments should not be made. No legitimate bank/building society, police officer, or business will ever phone you to ask you to give them your card, your PIN, or your cash in the way we’ve described above.
“Don’t trust anyone who calls you about your bank details. If you want to check they are legitimate, find their number via directory enquiries and call them back.
“Use a different telephone to make sure the line is clear. If they are genuine, you should be able to get through to them. You can also check what they are saying is true with your bank.
“Scams can be very elaborate, very convincing and cruel. If you think someone is trying to scam you, tell someone straight away. Don’t be pressured. Give yourself time to stop and think.
“It is good to see that several of those the fraudsters tried to con saw through their scam and hung up the phone. They then reported the attempted crime to Action Fraud and this is exactly what we would like people in Herefordshire to tell their friends and family to do as well.
“Please remember the police will never contact you asking for your bank card or cash.
If someone does, it’s a scam – provide no details and hand nothing over, hang up and report it immediately to Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040unless you are in immediate risk or feel threatened, in which case call 999.
Local residents can also sign up to Neighbourhood Matters – our brand new community messaging service.
Through Neighbourhood Matters you can sign up for local police alerts; receive information about crime in your area, find out about drop-in sessions, answer surveys, and more. You’re invited to sign up and become a registered recipient of messages of information, crime alerts such as fraud or witness appeals local to the area in which you live or work by email, text or telephone. Don’t worry, we won’t bombard you with every incident.
You can choose exactly the type of alert you wish to receive. We’d really like to hear from you so why not ask your family, friends and colleagues to register too? Sign up now https://neighbourhoodmatters.co.uk/
