Don't be a victim of telephone fraud
Police are reminding the public to be vigilant about telephone scams and to follow some simple advice to prevent them from becoming a victim of this type of crime.
Devon and Cornwall Police have been working with partners and the community to raise the awareness of the sudden rise in elderly victims who are conned out of thousands of pounds by tricksters who convince them they are calling on behalf of the police or the bank. The criminals will specifically call elderly residents and using clever guises, convince the elderly person their money is at risk in their own bank account and to transfer the money to the fraudster through various means.
Whilst the police continue to investigate a number of these offences and have already arrested numerous individuals across the country, there is also a rise in the number of calls to elderly victims claiming there is a virus or problem with their computer. The fraudster will state they can repair the machine for a fee.
Nationally there has been an emergence of the bank style frauds.
The newest and perhaps most believable fraud is where the fraudster calls the victim pretending to be a police officer or from the bank. The clever part of this is the fraudster will win the confidence of the victim by stating they would never ask the victim for their personal details.
They then ask them to terminate the call and call their bank. The fraudsters hold the line open and the unsuspecting victim calls their bank. The victim is unaware that the person they are talking to is still the fraudster or an accomplice who held the line open. Once their confidence is won the fraudster can obtain enough details to transfer money from their accounts through online banking. Banks are reluctant to refund people who have been conned in this way as they have willingly disclosed their security information.
If you receive a call from suspicious persons, then report the incident to police by calling 101. Remember to wait at least 5 minutes after the incident or call from a different phone, or the call may still be connected to the same person. The police and the banks will NEVER ask you for banking details or PIN numbers on the phone. Similarly, they would never send a ‘courier’ to collect bank cards or money or ask you to transfer money to a bank account of someone you do not know.
The Devon and Cornwall Police have set up a dedicated team of highly trained officers to investigate this type of fraud.
Acting Detective Sergeant Chris Donald said: “This type of crime has a real effect on people’s lives. Many of the victims in our investigations have lost their life savings.
"Many of our victims have been conned because these fraudsters are entirely believable. My team are working hard to address this problem and are working closely with a number of other Forces. I would urge anyone not to disclose any information to anyone on the telephone. Do not transfer any money if requested to do so and If you are asked to call your bank, leave it for ten minutes or call a friend in-between so you can be sure you have a new line. If in doubt please call the police. We are keen that this message gets delivered to the community and in particular those most at risk.
“The fraudsters will always evolve their approach. Prevention is the police key priority and education is the key, getting the message out to as much of the community as possible”.
