Dear Members,

Please be aware that we have had multiple incidents of persons being scammed on the telephone by a fraudster pretending to be police officer & asking them to withdraw money from their bank.

We are reminding residents about this fraud to help you to protect yourselves. 

Fraudsters will call you on your landline or mobile & pretend to be from your bank or a police officer. They may ask you to put the phone down and call the police or your bank to confirm who they are. 

You may then be asked to withdraw money from your bank, sometimes thousands and they will tell you what to tell your bank when asked what you need the money for. 

Fraudsters have the technology to imitate another phone number so that your caller display shows a number that is familiar to you, even if they are actually calling from somewhere else. 

Also, fraudsters will keep the line open, so when you hang up and then call the police, you unwittingly re-connect to the fraudster, who may then pretend to be the police switchboard. So, always use a different phone to check the line has disconnected by firstly phoning someone you know and would recognise. 

Remember, the police or your bank would never telephone to ask you to withdraw money to another account for “safe keeping”, “evidence” or for any other reason. 

These scam calls can be reported directly to Action Fraud - www.actionfraud.police.uk or 03001232040 - please note any phone numbers the scammers ask you to call, as this may assist an investigation.

If you do become a victim and a caller arranges to attend your address to collect vouchers or cash, please call police on 101, or 999 if the crime is in progress.