SCAM ALERT: Warning after police impersonators attempt to con man in latest fraud attempts

It was one of three fraud attempts reported in the area yesterday, and Lincolnshire Police has warned everyone to be on their guard.

In the fraud involving police impersonation, a man in his sixties was targeted by three separate calls, one after the other.

He was called by someone claiming to be a police officer from Brixton, who said his grandson had been arrested on suspicion of using a cloned bank card that belonged to his wife and that he must call 101.

As soon as he ended the call, the victim ended received another from a female claiming to be from Lloyd's head office saying that a police officer will be in touch shortly about his bank account.

This was followed up by a third call, purporting to be from Boston Police and advising him to move his money to a safe account.

In this incident, no personal details were revealed, and the victim lost no money.

In a separate incident, also in Boston, a women in her 50s received an email allegedly from DPD, advising her that a payment of £1 was needed to be able to deliver a parcel to her address.

The female victim unfortunately lost a sum of money, police say, although they have not said how much.

The third incident in the town was an attempted HMRC phishing scam on a man in his 30s, who quickly realised it was a scam and ended the call.

A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police urged people to be aware and to share information about the scam with friends, family, colleagues and neighbours.

They went on: “If you’re ever unsure about a call you’ve received, hang up immediately and call 101 using a different line. If you think you may have been a victim of fraud, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud online or call 0300 123 2040.

“Remember, police officers and your bank will never ask you to share personal or financial information via a text message or email. If in doubt, contact them directly.

“Report suspicious text messages by forwarding them to 7726. For suspicious emails, report it by forwarding it to [email protected]”

For further crime advice, visit https://www.lincs.police.uk/reporting-advice/fraud-and-scams/