Pensioner conned out of £12k by fraudster pretending to be police officer as cases reported across Hampshire
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Incidents have been reported over the past fortnight, with thousands of pounds taken fraudulently
Thousands of pounds have been taken from victims across Hampshire by someone pretending to be a police officer.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary are investigating several reports of individuals being scammed. One man, in his 80s, was conned out of £12k following a cold call.
The incident was reported on May 10, but took place on May 6 and the following day. Police said the victim received a call from someone claiming to be a police officer based in Petersfield. The caller claimed that he was investigating a fraud relating to a travel agents in the town.
He persuaded the victim to take out Euros worth £6,000 to help with the investigation, with a male turning up at the victim’s address to collect the cash. They were called again for another £6,000, which was taken by the same courier. The elderly male realised it was a scam and called the police.
Four incidents with similar circumstances took place across Hampshire over the past fortnight. Three of these happened in Petersfield, with the fourth in Winchester. In those cases, the victims realised it was fraud before handing over any money, reporting it to the police.
The force has launched an investigation, and are looking to see whether these incidents link to another courier fraud in Andover where a woman in her 70s handed over cash after being called by a male pretending to be a police officer.
Police Staff Investigator Barbara Bundy, of the Economic Crime Investigation Team, said: “Courier fraud scammers prey on often vulnerable people to hand over their money. They sometimes claim to be police officers, or from a bank, or another local agency. To be clear, we will never call people in this way and ask them to withdraw money. If someone is doing so, then it is a scam.
“Please don’t speak to them. Hang up straight away. One concerning aspect of this incident is that the victim was told by the scammer to dial 999 while still on the call to verify the identity of the ‘officer’. The call did not disconnect and another scammer then came on the line and claimed that the first caller was genuine. Our advice is to hang up as soon as possible, wait five minutes, and make sure the call has disconnected. Use another phone if necessary to report the incident.”
Any victims of fraud can report an incident via 101, or dial 999 in an emergency. Further information can be found on the Report Fraud website.