| Good Morning Councillor phil,This is a warning message from West Midlands Police to be wary of a phone scam known as Courier Fraud.
It involves thieves calling your home pretending to be police officers. They will tell you that you bank account has been hacked, or that they’ve arrested someone in possession of a bank card in your name, or that they are running a money laundering operation. They may claim to be a police officer from Wolverhampton central police station. They are NOT police officers. They are con artists pretending to be police officers. They trick people by telling them to call their banks immediately to block their accounts and cancel their cards – but they keep the phone line open so when the victim later thinks they’re speaking to a bank official it’s actually still the offenders on the other end of the line. The criminals will ask for bank cards or cash to be placed in an envelope which will be collected from their home by a Police Courier. And we have had cases where victims have handed over bank cards and PIN numbers, thousands of pounds in cash, or even been instructed to buy expensive jewellery and hand that over. Our message is simple. The police service does NOT use couriers to collect cash, bank cards or valuables. And NEVER divulge your bank details or PIN numbers over the phone to anyone claiming to be a bank official or police officer. If you receive a call like this then hang up and call the police on 999. Ideally, use a different phone line (or a mobile phone) from the one on which you’ve taken the scam call as the offenders could still be on the line. These fraudsters can be very convincing – and they deliberately target elderly, more vulnerable residents who they believe will be more susceptible to their lies. Many victims in the past have been dementia sufferers. Not only are victims conned out of their savings, but many are left psychologically traumatised at being tricked and it can have a lasting impact on them. If you have elderly neighbours, relatives or friends then please spend 10 minutes with them to raise awareness of Courier Fraud – and together hopefully we can prevent people from becoming victims. https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/news/6095/arrests-courier-fraud-probe Kind Regards The Partnerships Office |
| Message Sent By Tina Fallon (Police , Engagement and Consultations officer, Wolverhampton Partnerships) |
