This week the South Wales Police have warned the public to be cautious of a new scam going around. A number of people have reported being contacted by someone claiming to be a police officer using an elaborate story as an attempt to con the victim in to handing over money.
One such example of the scam has seen a 66-year-old from Cardiff conned out of hundreds of pounds in cash. A ‘Detective Sergeant’ told the victim that the police were holding a man in custody who was one of the UK’s biggest fraudsters. This man was allegedly in possession of the victim’s bank cards and a map of their home.
Despite initial suspicion from the victim they ended up handing over hundreds of pounds in cash to the scammer for ‘forensic examination’ in what they believed was an attempt to clear their name of any wrong-doing.
Whilst many of the victims have been described as elderly and vulnerable, Detective Inspector Paul Giess, from the Economic Crime Unit warned of how “sophisticated and well rehearsed these scammers are” and how anyone could potentially become a victim.
This is similar to a scam that we reported last year taking place across the UK, in which scammers were calling local businesses posing as police officers to encourage them to make a donation to a local community cause that they’d allegedly supported in the past, proving that scammers aren’t just targeting the elderly and vulnerable amongst us.
To help minimise the risk of being a victim to this type of phone scam, always remember the following:
- Try to obtain details of the caller including their name, the police force they work for, rank, collar number and station
- Never provide any details of bank cards or other financial information over the phone to an unknown caller
- Never agree to hand over funds to an unknown caller
To help protect yourself from all types of scam and nuisance callers:
- Purchase any device from our range of call blockers
- Register with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS)