Devon bank scam warning

Another victim in her 80's has been scammed by telephone fraudsters and persuaded to pass £6000 over because she was worried that her money in the bank was at risk.

Fraudsters will pretend to be calling from the Bank or from the Police and will be incredibly convincing that the elderly person's money is at risk in their own bank account.  They will ask for bank details and encourage the victim to call their bank, whilst keeping the phone line open, fooling the victim into believing they are calling their own bank or the police.

They will ask for the money to be handed over to another stranger or transferred to another bank account or ask the victim to buy an expensive item.

The latest rouse is to ask the victim to transfer money through a foreign currency exchange.  The victims can be in the 70's, 80's and 90's and will often be left confused and without thousands of pounds.

Tell your neighbours, relatives and friends that these crimes do occur and to be aware.

Although only one or two occur each month across Devon & Cornwall, the impact can be devastating for the victim and  you can help to prevent these crimes by making people aware.  Visit the Devon and Cornwall Police Website on fraud for more advice:

https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/crime-prevention/your-money/fraud/c...

++++++++++Protect yourself

A genuine police officer would never contact you in this way.

Banks and the police would never ask someone to aid an investigation by withdrawing or transferring money.

If you receive one of these calls, end it immediately.

If you have handed over any bank account details to the fraudster, call your bank and cancel your cards immediately.

If you want to call your bank, then do it from another telephone. If you don’t have another telephone to use, call someone you know first to make sure the telephone line is free.