Derbyshire Police officers have reported an increase in the number of calls being made to people from fake police officers asking people to give money to couriers for a hoax investigation.
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.”
“We also know that these fraudsters can target geographical areas where they know elderly or vulnerable people live, so please spread this message far and wide.”
The cold calls will give a fake name with those being given so far reported as, DI Cameron, DS Cooper, DC Matthew Phillips and 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.
A statement from Derbyshire Police stressed that 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 statement added that The police will never make contact to request banking information or ask for funds to aid an investigation.
Investigations have confirmed a high number of such calls in the Shirebrook area. Anyone receiving such a call is being strongly advised to hang up and contact Police via non-emergency routes to report it as soon as possible and enable an assessment of where calls are being targeted, for banks to be alerted and to help prevent other scams.
Non-emergency contact routes for Derbyshire Police are detailed below:
- Facebook– send a private message to /DerbyshireConstabulary
- Twitter– direct message the contact centre on @DerPolContact
- Website– complete the online contact form at derbyshire.police.uk/Contact-Us.
- Phone – call 101
You can also anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111 or by visiting www.crimestoppers-uk.org