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.
