Police have issued a major warning following an incident where two people were scammed out of thousands of pounds by evil criminals masquerading as bankers. Reports in Northamptonshire were made on Monday, and are believed to be part of a courier fraud operation, a scam involving fraudsters posing as banks, police officers, or other official bodies, with the aim of stealing funds and personal details from vicitims.
In both of the incidents, the vicitims were contacted by what police say were “convincing” callers, persuading them to provide confidential information and large amounts of money before a so-called ‘courier’ collected the cash and items. Now, the force’s Economic Crime Unit has issued a serious warning to the public to stay viligant, and requesting people to check on any vulnerable and elderly family and friends.
The unit has also informed people to remember that genuine callers would never ask for bank details or card details, or request anyone to withdraw money, transfer funds, purchase expensive items, or ask someone to participate in an undercover investigation.
Detective Sergeant Matt Crick said: “In both these reports, the calllers were taken in by what sounded like convincing scenarios – one involving the caller’s bank, and the other from people pretending to be police officers – and have ended up losing thousands of pounds to criminals.
“Crimes like this cause deep distress to victims, who often feel embarrassed that they believed what they were being told, but offenders take care to make their requests sound both convincing and urgent. I want to stress that the police, nor any financial institution, would call you of of the blue and ask for your bank cards, cash or any financial details.”
He added: “If you recieve an unexpected call from someone claiming to be from the police, ask for their collar number then hang up, wait five minutes and then call 101 to verify or report what has happened. You will hear a pre-recorded operator message at the start of your call – if not, hang up again and use a different phone if possible.
“We know courier fraudsters often target people in the same area over a number of days, to make the collection of any money or bank cards easier for them, so we are urgently asking people to be alert to this sort of crime, including talking to elderly or potentially vulnerable relatives, friends and neighbours to help spot and avoid such scams.”
Warnings also circulated last year in October after a man dressed up as traffic warden attempted to scam a woman out of £4,000. The victim had parked her car near a hospital and was told was required to hand over her bank card or risk being fined.