"Courier" fraud telephone scams

Date Added: 17/02/2021

Act with caution if you receive a suspicious telephone call

The Trading Standards team have recently seen an increase in reports from local residents who have received a telephone call from a bogus “police officer or bank official”.

The incidents reported to us vary in nature, but they usually involve an unknown caller, claiming to be a police officer or bank employee, who is investigating alleged fraudulent activity by someone using the resident’s bank cards or bank account.

The caller then requests the resident’s help in catching the alleged fraudsters by either transferring a sum of money from their account into another account so the payment can be traced or withdrawing a large amount of cash, which they will then arrange to be collected from the resident’s home, so the cash can be examined further.

The caller promises the resident that all money will be returned to them.

Trading Standards are reminding residents that police officers or your bank will NEVER:

Phone and ask you for your PIN or full banking password
Ask you to withdraw money to hand over to them for safe-keeping or help them with an investigation
Ask you to transfer money out of your account
Send someone to your home to collect money, PINs, bank cards or items you have been asked to purchase

If you have doubts about a telephone call you receive, then do not be afraid to end the call by simply hanging up.

Please help prevent others from falling victim to this type of scam by letting your family, friends and neighbours know about this alert.

Be Scam Aware