Warning over scam calls as elderly man narrowly avoids losing thousands

An elderly Derbyshire man narrowly avoided being scammed out of thousands of pounds thanks to the help of a police officer. The man had been contacted by someone claiming to be an officer from Derbyshire police. The scammers told him that his bank card had been compromised and then sent a mobile phone to his address so they could contact him further. The next day, they told the man to go to the bank and withdraw £10,000 with the cover story of buying a car. However, on the way to the bank in Nottingham, the phone ran out of battery so the man popped into a police station in the city centre to ask to charge it. Once there, he was spoken to by an officer from Nottinghamshire Police and the phone was seized. The man has also been offered support and advice by fraud protect officers from Derbyshire Constabulary.
Derbyshire Alert says:-

"We have been receiving a high number of reports of police impersonation fraud in Derbyshire in recent weeks. People receive a call from someone pretending to be police officer who says that they are investigating the unauthorised use of that person's bank card and advising them not to tell anyone about this call as it may jeopardise the police investigation. As the call progresses, victims will be encouraged to withdraw funds from their bank account or give bank cards to a courier, arranged by the 'police officer' under the guise of 'assisting with a police investigation'. In some cases, victims have been asked to withdraw Euros from a currency exchange kiosk. We know that this type of call can be linked to courier fraud.

If you receive such a call, you should not give out any personal information and hang up the call immediately.

The police will never contact you asking for banking information or request that you withdraw money from an account to aid an investigation.

Fraudsters often target geographical areas where they know elderly or vulnerable people live, so if you have family or friends who are vulnerable in anyway, please make them aware of this scam. If you, or someone you know, receives a call of this nature please contact us as soon as possible. We will then assess the area that is being targeted, alert the banks and endeavour to protect other local residents to prevent any financial loss.

• Facebook – send us a private message to /DerbyshireConstabulary
• Twitter – direct message our contact centre on @DerPolContact
• Website – complete the online contact form www.derbyshire.police.uk/Contact-Us.
• Phone – call us on 101.

You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing you can also text on 07800 002414 or email us at deafsms@derbyshire.pnn.police.uk.

Derbyshire Constabulary advice - If you receive a call of this nature please terminate the call, wait five minutes and ensure you can hear a dial tone before calling 101.

To call your bank please use the number found on the back of your card. All reports of this nature also need to be reported to Action Fraud 0300 120 2040 or online https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

For further fraud advice and prevention information please contact your local Fraud Protect Officer: Tammy.Barnes@derbyshire.police.uk."