Crooks Use Police Phone Number In Elaborate Cold Call Scam

Fraudsters are using the Leicestershire Police phone number in an elaborate cold call scam.

Four people have fallen victim to it in the last week, handing over a total of £18,000.

They have first received a call from someone claiming to work for HMRC, saying personal information needs to be passed to Police.

A further call is then made – shown to from the Police’s main 0116 222 2222 number – where a scammer claims the victim’s details are being used to open a large number of bank accounts and requests bank details.

Threatening language may be use and victims have been told they are in trouble and could be arrested or taken to court.

The caller then provides a bank account number and asks the victim to transfer money over for ‘safe keeping.’

Police say numbers shown on caller ID are not verification of where a call is coming from.

Nicole McIntyre, from Leicestershire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “We will never contact you and ask you to transfer funds.

“Should you receive a call from the force phone number where someone asks you to send money, please hang up immediately.

“You can contact us on 101 should you need to clarify the information. Always leave more than ten seconds between hanging up and dialling out to ensure the original call has terminated.

“Please pass this information on to any friends of family members who may not be aware of this scam or who could be particularly vulnerable to the way these criminals operate. If we work together, we can try and prevent more people from falling victim.”

If you are a victim of this scam – or know someone who has been – please contact us on 101. You can also report incidents online by visiting https://www.leics.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/

You should also contact your bank immediately.

You can also make a report to Action Fraud by visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk