Warning After Fraudsters Pose At Police To Steal Thousands Of Pounds

A warning has been issued after two elderly people had thousands of pounds stolen by fraudsters who posed as police officers.

Leicestershire Police say the victims, aged 75 and 78, were phoned up and told to withdraw the money as part of an investigation into counterfeit currency.

One of them lost £25,000 and the other more than £8,000 after a courier later arrived at their houses in the Oakham area to collect the money.

A third report related to an 88-year-old man who fortunately didn’t lose any money as the bank intervened and raised concerns about the withdrawal.  He had also been contacted by someone claiming to be a police officer investigating counterfeit currency.

Police say officers will never contact people in this way.

Nicole McIntyre from the force’s economic crime unit, said: “It’s very worrying that these two victims have lost so much money.

“This type of offence is of great concern to us.  Suspects are targeting elderly or vulnerable people.  They sound genuine and gain the trust of the victims.

“The police or banks would not contact people in this way.  If you get a call like this hang up.  If you need to contact your bank to check wait five minutes as fraudsters can stay on the line even after you have hung up, or use a different line altogether.  Your bank cards are yours and never let them be used by others.

“We are asking people to remain vigilant.  If you have elderly neighbours or relatives who don’t access our website or social media sites please advise them of these incidents.

“Telephone companies can assist with call blocking technology to help restrict these types of calls. We would recommend that people talk this through with their vulnerable or elderly family and friends to help prevent this activity.

“At times the fraudsters use local taxi firms to transport potential victims to their banks.  We would ask taxi companies to be mindful of this and if they have any suspicions to contact the police immediately.