Banbury residents please share this Alert with elderly neighbours and friends. Thames Valley Police are reissuing their warning to residents of the Thames Valley to be on their guard re fraudulent phone calls purporting to be from banks/police officers and requesting bank and card details. On Wednesday (8/1) an elderly lady from Thorpe Road, Upper Wordington received such a call and followed the instructions she was given. It was later discovered that £34,000 was taken from her account. The scam, which often targets the elderly and vulnerable, sees the victim receive a phone call from fraudsters who say they are from their bank or the police. They tell the victim that they are calling because there has been suspicious activity on their account and advise them to call the bank from the number on the back of their card. The victim disconnects the phone and dials their bank or police, however the fraudster has kept the telephone line open so even though a number is dialed, it is not connected and the victim is still on the phone to the fraudster, who then gains their trust and asks them to either say or key in their pin, before telling them their card will be collected and a replacement delivered. Once the fraudster has all the information they need, a courier is sent to collect the card from the victim, and a replacement is delivered at the same time, which is not a genuine bank card. The offender has obtained the person’s name, address, full bank details, the card itself and the PIN. The bank cards are then used fraudulently without the victim’s knowledge. The fraudsters who carry out this type of crime are very skilled in portraying themselves as authentic bank employees or police detectives, and make the scam seem genuine by asking the victim to ring their bank. Our advice is that, if you receive such a call, end it immediately. We would also like to ask residents to let any elderly or vulnerable family members, friends, or neighbours know about the scam. Remember, your bank will never attend your home; and neither the bank nor the police will ever collect your bank card or ask for your PIN. The more we can spread the word about this type of fraud, the less success the fraudsters will have. For more information please visit: thamesvalley.police.uk/newsevents/newsevents-pressreleases/newsevents-pressreleases-item.htm?id=271772 If you receive this type of call, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or via their website. In an emergency, dial 999.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 10:47:25 +0000
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