Police are urging members of the public to warn elderly relatives about phone calls from fake police officers after three people in their 80s gave a total of £25,000 to fraudsters.
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The victims of the scam, from Itchen Abbas, Waltham Chase and Colden Common, all received phone calls from someone purporting to be from the police, apparently investigating fraudulent bank transactions.
They were urged to withdraw cash from their banks and check serial numbers – and then advised that some was counterfeit.
A courier was sent to collect the ‘counterfeit’ cash.
Police say they’re concerned there may be other people who could be unaware they’ve been the victim of a similar fraud.
Advice
They advise the following on these types of scam:
“This type of fraud starts with a telephone call from someone pretending to be from the police or your bank. The fraudster will claim there is an issue with your card or bank account and get you to reveal personal information, including your PIN number. Once they have your information, a courier will be sent to collect the card, which they can then use to withdraw money from your account.
“There are many other variations on this including being told you have an outstanding tax bill or loan you need to pay off to avoid being arrested. Fraudsters may also ask you to buy a high value item to help identify counterfeit goods or to withdraw a large amount of money to catch a corrupt member of staff at the bank or Post Office.”
There’s further information and advice about similar types of fraud and identity theft on the Hampshire Constabulary website.