Tuesday 17 November 2020

Warning after phone scammers pose as police

A local resident received the scam call and this is how it worked:-
 
"Is that Mrs. James?"  
"Yes"
"This is the police at Hammersmith station. Do you have a relation named Jonathon James?"
"No" 
We don't have a Jonathon in our family.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes"
"We are holding him in custody because he has a cloned debit card and he has used it to take out £1,180 from your account. He says he has your permission to use it."
At this point, being suspicious, my wife told them that her son was a policeman.
"Well, this has got nothing to do with him."
He sounded agitated.
My wife asked for the caller's name and number. He didn't give them.
"Well, if you want to check, I'll put the phone down and you can call 999."
She knew about the line-open trick.
She told them the best thing to do was to visit her in uniform to go through the issues.
The caller got aggressive.
"We certainly will call on you and bring armed policemen as well!"
My wife put the phone down.
She checked her account online and nothing is remiss.

I am assuming she would have been asked to provide the card number and pin number to verify it was the correct card, but he never got that far.

Police will NEVER ask for your PIN number or personal details.
 
If you are not happy with a phone call and are suspicious of the conversation you have with the caller then please end the call. If you think you or someone you know has been defrauded, you can report it to Action Fraud online or by calling 0300 123 2040.


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