Isle residents urged not to fall foul of scam

Today, Thursday June 11, Humberside Police has received over 30 calls from elderly people letting us know they have someone pretending to be a police officer calling them. Fortunately the vast majority were aware it was part of the scam, however others in the past have had thousands of pounds stolen.

What is the scam?

The victim is called by an unknown person purporting to be a police officer. During the call the offender says the victims has been the victims of fraud and to contact their bank.

However, when the victim calls the bank the caller has not actually cleared and it is another person pretending to be a bank employee at the end of the line. They gather the victim’s card details and personal data, as well as confirming the story of the bogus officer has given them.

The victim then received a further call from the bogus police officer suggesting they transfer their money to a police security account or had over money to an officer/courier who will be sent to pick it up the money on the polices behalf.

What should people do if they are called?

• never give out bank or personal details to strangers

• don’t hand over money or transfer funds to unknown accounts

• use another phone to ring the police about the incident, but do not use your own phone immediately as the offender may be on the line a short time after you have put your phone down.

If people are called as part of this scam they should where possible make a note of key details of the call, including the number the bogus caller has rung from before calling Humberside Police on 101.

A recording of a telephone conversation between a criminal and his victim has been released to the public by Dorset Police to make people aware of how fraudsters are trying to con the elderly out of thousands of pounds.

Use the following link to listen to the footage: click here