Police Officer Impersonation Courier Fraud

POLICE OFFICER IMPERSONATION COURIER FRAUD

Cheshire Police emailed this warning through to the Tattenhall Editorial Team.

The Scam:

• Offenders cold call posing as a Police Officer, usually a detective from a Police Station in London. Several characters may be involved to convince the victim they are genuine.
• They convince the victim that there is a corrupt official/ counterfeit currency at their bank and ask them to assist with a "sting" operation.
• They provide a cover story and an amount of cash to be withdrawn.
• They send a taxi to take the victim to the bank and back.
• They stay on the phone and tell the victim how to answer questions from the bank.
• They tell the victim how to package the money.
• They then attend the victim's home address, or send a courier, to recover the cash. In some cases victims have been asked to travel elsewhere in the country to hand over cash.

Protect Yourself:

• The Police will never ask people to withdraw money from their bank account.
• The police will never ask members of the public to assist them with operations.
• Hang up and wait five minutes before calling the police/ bank on a trusted number. Fraudsters may stay on the line after you hang up. A different line should be used if possible.
• Report the matter immediately to the police on 101, or 999 if you think you have met the Fraudster.