A warning has been issued after three elderly people in Leicester were targeted by fraudsters pretending to be police officers.
The victims have lost more than £27,000 as a result of offences commonly known as courier fraud. All three instances have happened over the past week.
Between Tuesday and Wednesday last week (20-21 June) a 79-year-old man from Oadby was contacted by someone claiming to be a police officer from a station in the South of the country. The caller claimed they were investigating counterfeit currency at the victim’s bank and needed him to withdraw cash to check the serial numbers. Over two days a total of £9000 was collected from the victim by the suspects.
Last Thursday (22 June) a 72-year-old man from the Belgrave area was contacted by someone claiming to be a police officer investigating fraudulent activity on the victim’s bank account. The victim was suspicious of the call and visited his local bank and reported what had happened. No money was lost.
A third incident was reported on Sunday (25 June), a 74-year-old woman from the Clarendon Park area was contacted on Friday (23 June) by someone claiming to be a police officer. He claimed they were investigating counterfeit currency and asked the victim to purchase some Euros so they could check them. Over two days more than £18,000 worth of Euros was collected from the victim’s home address.
Nicole McIntyre from Leicestershire Police’s economic crime unit, said: “It’s very worrying that two of the three victims have lost so much money.
“This type of offence is of great concern to us. Suspects are targeting elderly or vulnerable people. They sound genuine and gain the trust of the victims.
“The police or banks would not contact people in this way. If you get a call like this hang up. If you need to contact your bank to check wait five minutes as fraudsters can stay on the line even after you have hung up, or use a different line altogether. Your bank cards are yours and never let them be used by others.
“We are asking people to remain vigilant. If you have elderly neighbours or relatives who don’t access our website or social media sites please advise them of these incidents.
“Telephone companies can assist with call blocking technology to help restrict these types of calls. We would recommend that people talk this through with their vulnerable or elderly family and friends to help prevent this activity.
“At times the fraudsters use local taxi firms to transport potential victims to their banks. We would ask taxi companies to be mindful of this and if they have any suspicions to contact the police immediately.”
Further advice about the scam can be found at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/courier-fraud and the steps people can take to protect themselves.
