Scammers are targeting residents with the “courier scam.” This is a nationally recognised technique of conning people into handing over their bank card. Lincolnshire Police say that they are aware of seven recent incidents in the county and Officers investigating understand from other force areas that offenders concentrate intensely on a particular area before moving on.
As with many of these scams, offenders often target vulnerable or elderly people. If you have an elderly relative or neighbour you can help by warning them about this.
How it works:
– Elderly victim is contacted on their landline from a man identifying himself as a police officer (usually from Birmingham or London). The caller with give a name and collar number of a real police officer.
– Victim informed that police have someone in custody who has made a fraudulent transaction on their card. The victim is told to contact their bank ASAP.
– Victim will put the phone down but the offender will NOT, hence keeping the line open.
– Offender will then pretend to be the victim’s bank and ask personal questions ie PIN numbers. The offender will keep the victim on the phone for 1 to 2 hours and inform the victim that they will send a courier around to collect the card to ensure it is disposed of.
– Offender will send a courier (usually another member of the group) to the address to collect the bank card. The courier will then arrive at victims address and collect the card/s.
– Offender will then use the victims card immediately after, withdrawing and making transactions between £1,500 to £2,000.
For example Lincolnshire Police are urging residents to call 101 with details of incidents to pass on for the attention of PC 855 Steve Parker who is coordinating an overview of all offences and spreading awareness of the issue. He said, “I have spoken to a number of forces and they have said that we need to get on top of this because from their experience, they have a few incidents and then it ‘explodes’ in their county once the offenders realise they can get something from the area.”
Recent incidents in Lincolnshire:
214 – 31/03/2014 – Wyberton, Boston
109 – 30/03/2014 – Skellingthorpe
419 – 29/03/2014 – North Hykeham
302 – 29/03/2014 – Saxilby
313 – 20/03/2014 – Sleaford
109 – 03/04/2014 – Grantham
159 – 18/03/2014 – Bourne
Protect yourself:
-Your bank will never send a courier to your home
-Your bank and the police will never collect your bank card
-Your bank and the police will never ask for your PIN
-If you receive one of these calls end it immediately
