Elderly Derbyshire residents targeted by scammers pretending to be police officers
Two elderly Derbyshire residents have been scammed out of thousands of pounds by fraudsters posing as police officers.
The fraud sees these fake officers asking people to give money to couriers as part of an investigation.
The scammers have been targeting elderly or vulnerable people and in the last week, two elderly residents have lost a substantial amount of money to the scam.
Police are encouraging all residents to be on their guard against these calls and to help spread the word with their family members and friends. The scam calls have been reported across the county with an increase in the number of calls received in recent weeks.
Fraud Protect Officer Tammy Barnes said: “These callers pretend to be investigating a crime involving the victims’ card or bank account.
“They then ask for money transfers, or even for cash withdrawals or bank cards to be given to a courier, to ‘assist with the investigation’ which the police will never do.”
The cold callers will give a fake name – potentially one of these:
DI Cameron
DS Cooper
DC Matthew Phillips
PC Smith
Another warning sign is that the fake officer says not to share any details of the call with anyone as it risks jeopardising the police investigation. This is to apply pressure to the victim to comply and not ask for help.
It’s also important to note on previous occasions the caller has asked the victim to call 999 to verify their claims but instead remains on the line to complete the scam.
The police will never contact you to request banking information or ask for funds to aid an investigation.
If you receive a call like this – hang up and contact police to report it as soon as possible. They can then assess where is targeted, alert banks and prevent other scams. Contact them on:
- Facebook – send us a private message to our Facebook page
- Twitter – direct message our contact centre via @DerPolContact
- Website – We have several crime reporting tools on our website or use our online contact form
- Phone – call us on 101
You can also anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111, or by visiting the CrimeStoppers website
If you wish to phone Police to report, wait five minutes after ending the scam call and make sure you hear a dial tone before calling 101.
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