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BANK FRAUD: St Albans residents being warned over phone scammers 

 Published on: 19th March 2020   |   By: News Desk   |   Category: Uncategorized

A number of residents in St Albans and Potters Bar have been contacted by fake callers posing as police officers asking them for their bank details.

They are then asked to hand over their bank cards or money to a courier.

The scam involves a telephone call via mobile or a landline number, with someone posing as a police officer and informing the resident there has been fraudulent use on their bank account.

The victim is then instructed to put their bank cards and/or money into an envelope and give them to a courier or taxi, which is sent to the house by the offenders to collect them.

If bank cards are collected they will be used later by the offenders to withdraw large sums of money.

The offenders also request people’s help in investigating the fraud and ask people to disclose their bank details, including their account and PIN numbers.

There have been six incidents reported to police during March 2020. One of the offences led to an 83-year-old woman from St Albans losing over £6000.

Detective inspector Rob Burns, from the serious fraud and cyber unit said: “Police officers or bank staff would never ask for people’s bank details, like a PIN. You should never give your bank details to anyone. Usually the intended victim realises the call is not genuine and refuses to part with their personal and bank details. However, these fraudsters can be very persuasive and insistent, which has resulted in some people falling victim to this scam and subsequently losing thousands of pounds from their accounts.”

If you are not happy with a phone call and are suspicious of the conversation you have with the caller then please end the call and dial 101 or report online herts.police.uk/Report/Report.

You can also watch a video from YouTube below, provided by Action Fraud and entitled, “The Devil’s in Your Details” at herts.police.uk/Information-and-services/Advice/Crime-prevention/Protect-your-money/Scam-police-and-bank-callers

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