Police issue warning following recent reports of courier fraud

Communities are being urged to remain vigilant following recent reports of courier fraud in which more than £17,000 in cash has been handed over to scammers.

Courier fraud occurs when a fraudster contacts victims by telephone claiming to be a police officer or bank official.  The caller sounds plausible and may confirm the victim’s name and address, basic information which could be easily obtained.

This month, Leicestershire Police has received four calls from members of the public who have been contacted by someone claiming to be a police officer – urging them to withdraw money from bank accounts due to fraudulent activity.

On 1 December, a 69-year-old woman from Loughborough handed over £8,000 in cash after she was told fraudsters were targeting her bank and accessing accounts.

The woman was told to withdraw her money to help catch these people in the act. A man then collected the money from the victim and left.

On Friday (9 December), a 92-year-old man, also from Loughborough, was conned out of £9,500 after he received a number of calls telling him his credit card had been cloned and was being used to buy a Rolex watch.

He was told to hand over the cash as part of the police’s investigation to help trace counterfeit money. The scammers then tried a second time, attempting to get a further £7,500 from the victim but this transaction was declined.

On the same day in Melton, an 89-year-old woman received a call telling her to withdraw £3,500 from her account due to an issue with her bank. Thankfully, she mentioned it to her son and although she had already taken the money out of her account she hadn’t handed the cash over.

Police also received a further call on 9 December from a 65-year-old man in Melton who had been told a man had been arrested and has in possession of a number of credit cards, including one in his name. Luckily, he released it was a scam and ended the call.

The force’s Economic Crime Unit (ECU) are carrying out enquiries into these reports and ask anyone with information to get in touch. They are also issuing a warning to people across the force area to be aware of these types of calls in the hope others don’t fall victim.

Nicole McIntyre, from the ECU, said: “It is often with this offence that perpetrators target elderly or vulnerable people. They sound genuine and work quickly to gain the trust of the person they are calling.

“In the last 12 days we have seen four people fall victim to this type of fraud, two of them parting with a significant amount of money.

“I want to inform our communities to hopefully stop it happening to anyone else. Please make sure for anyone with elderly or vulnerable family or friends you are ensuring they are aware too.

“The police would never contact you and ask you to withdraw money. If you get a call like this please hang up. If you need to contact your bank following a call like this please try to use a different line as fraudsters can stay on the line even after you have hung up.”

Anyone who thinks they have been a victim of courier fraud is asked to report it to police on 101 or via www.leics.police.uk

Further advice about the scam can be found on the Action Fraud website https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/courier-fraud and the steps people can take to protect themselves.