Elderly Scunthorpe residents have been the target of a scam, where a man called victims and pretended to be a police officer.
The fraudulent calls have been received by a number of vulnerable locals, who are eventually asked to give the fraudster their bank details. The man has been ringing people in the area, pretending to be an officer conducting a fraud investigation.
The bogus caller told the vulnerable victims that they needed to provide their bank details so they could look to safeguard them from any fraudulent transactions. Humberside Police has since launched an investigation and confirmed the calls are bogus.
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Economic Crime Unit Sergeant Dan Brittain said “This is a scam. We want to raise awareness that this scam is happening in our area to avoid anyone else becoming a victim.
“The police would never call asking for money or bank details. Please do not give out any personal details or banking information during the call.
“The bank or the police will never tell you to disclose such information. The police will never contact you out of the blue and ask you to participate in an investigation that requires you to withdraw money from your bank, or to purchase or hand over high-value goods, such as jewellery or gold and or cash.
“If in doubt, call your bank back on a number you trust, or call us on 101 – but do it on another phone or leave it at least five minutes before you make the call. This is important because criminals can keep the phone line open for several minutes after you put down the phone, which means you could end up inadvertently talking to the criminal or their accomplice again.”
Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
