Officers urge vigilance following courier fraud attempts

Courier Fraud happens when a fraudster contacts a victim by telephone, claiming to be a police officer, bank or from a government department, among other agencies. A number of techniques will then be adopted in order to convince the victim to hand over their bank details or cash, which may then be passed on to a courier.

 

The calls yesterday were made to residents in Haddiscoe and Diss, with the caller in both incidents claiming to be an officer from the MET Police. No money was given in either interaction.

 

Remember, the police will NEVER ask you to withdraw/send money or purchase items.

 

If you have doubts about the person who called you, hang up and wait five minutes before calling back on 101; there have been cases of fraudsters keeping the line open after a victim has hung up, so leaving several minutes between calls will make sure that the call has closed.

 

More information on how to check an officer’s identity can be found here. 

 

 

Further advice includes:

• Your bank or the police will NEVER ask for your PIN, bank card or bank account details over the phone – never give these details to anybody.

• Neither the police nor the banks will send a courier to collect money from you.

• Always request Photo ID and if unsure call the police.

• If you're asked to telephone a bank, always do it on a different phone to the one you were contacted on.

• Fraudsters will keep the line open and have been known to play ringtones, hold music and a recorded message down the phone so the victim believes they are making a call to a legitimate number. Make sure you have hung up from the original call and you can hear a dialling tone before calling police or use a friend or neighbour's telephone instead.

• Do not rush into complying to the scammers demands / requests.