Wolverhampton residents are being reminded to be aware of a phone scam after fraudsters struck three times on Friday 26 June.
Conmen posing as police officers made calls to three elderly people in Penn and Chapel Ash advising their cards had been used fraudulently and asking them to confirm personal details including account numbers and sort codes.
The fraudsters also ask for address details so they can come and collect their victim’s cards. However two of yesterday’s victims withheld their addresses and no cards were taken.
The third passed over details but realised what had happened shortly afterwards and contacted their bank and no suspicious withdrawals had been made.
Inspector John Smith, from Wolverhampton Police, said: “This cruel scam involves people calling and pretending to be police officers reporting suspicious activity on their bank account.
“They may claim to have arrested someone with a cloned bank card, that money has been taken from their account, or that cash in their account is counterfeit.
“Our message is simple – police officers or genuine bank officials would never ask you to divulge PIN numbers over the phone or send couriers round to collect cards or cash.
“If you receive a call requesting this then hang up and contact police immediately on 101”.
Protect yourself against courier fraud:
• Your bank or police will never send a courier to your home to collect bank cards or cash • Your bank or police will never ask for your PIN number • If you receive one of these calls end it immediately.
If you’ve been a victim call your bank and cancel your cards immediately – try to call from a different phone if reporting it immediately after being contacted by someone you believe was a scammer – and report it to West Midlands Police on 101.
