A Watford resident has been scammed into purchasing gold bullion worth £200,000 after a fraudster called them posing as a police officer.
The victim was told to purchase the bullion as part of a fake ‘fraud investigation’.
Herts Police took to social media to warn locals of this kind of scam, highlighting that “police/bank staff would never ask you to hand over cash or banking details or buy goods”.
This type of crime is known as courier fraud. Here, the fraudster will call a victim posing as a police or bank official with basic, easily obtainable information to establish trust. Examples of this might be the victim’s name and address.
The fraudster may also offer a fake telephone number for the victim to call or ask the victim to call the number on the back of their bank card to check that they are genuine. If a genuine number is suggested, the fraudster will stay on the line and pass the victim to a different individual.
Action Fraud advises residents to hang up if their ‘bank’ asks for personal information or their PIN. Fraudsters may even offer to come around and collect the card.
To check the call is genuine, residents should hang up and call their bank using an official number. They should use a different line or wait 5 minutes after hanging up, in case the fraudster is waiting on the line.
Head to www.shorturl.at/cC78N to find out more information and how to protect yourself.
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