Shropshire Star

Shropshire alert over rise in ‘police’ scams

A warning has been issued in Shropshire after a surge in fraudsters claiming to be from various police services.

Published
Police in warning over scams

These include callers pretending to be police officers from the Fraud Squad.

Officers today urged people to get in touch with elderly and vulnerable friends and family to warn them of the risk and to know what to do.

Across West Mercia in the last week there have been several successful and unsuccessful attempts to defraud people using telephone scams.

In some cases there have been thousands of pounds successfully taken from the elderly and vulnerable residents by criminals pretending to be police officers.

One woman, who spoke to the Shropshire Star, told how she was persuaded to hand over nearly £4,000 in cash.

Superintendent Paul Moxley said: “Don’t trust anyone who calls you about your bank details. Always hang up and wait 10 minutes to ensure the call has disconnected before calling 101.

Convincing and cruel

“If you want to check they are legitimate, find their number via directory enquiries and call them back.

“Use a different telephone to make sure the line is clear. If they are genuine, you should be able to get through to them. You can also check what they are saying is true with your bank.

“Scams can be very elaborate, very convincing and cruel. If you think someone is trying to scam you, tell someone straight away. Don’t be pressured. Give yourself time to stop and think.”

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He added: “We are working hard to identify these cowards conning our elderly and vulnerable family members and friends and over the weekend two men were charged with fraud in a case similar to others in Herefordshire.

"However, we are asking for help from the public to spread this message throughout the wider community and would urge you to pass on, particularly to elderly relatives or neighbours, information about these scams and ask them not to trust anyone who asks them for their bank details.”

Protect yourself:

  • For information about staying safe or to report a scam visit actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.