Police have issued an urgent warning after two people were cruelly tricked out of thousands of pounds by scammers posing as officials from a bank and the Met Police.
The alarming reports, both made in Northamptonshire on Monday, are believed to be part of a courier fraud operation – a type of heartless scam where fraudsters impersonate banks, police officers, or other official bodies to steal money and personal details from unsuspecting victims.
In both cases, the victims were contacted by what police describes as ‘convincing’ callers who persuaded them to hand over confidential information and large sums of money before a so-called ‘courier’ was dispatched to collect the cash or items.
The force’s Economic Crime Unit has now issued a stark warning to the public to remain vigilant, particularly urging people to speak to elderly or vulnerable family members.
They also implored people to remember that genuine callers would never ask for bank details or card details, or ask anyone to withdraw cash, transfer funds, purchase expensive items, or ask someone to play a part in an undercover investigation.
Detective Sergeant Matt Crick said: ‘In both these reports, the callers were taken in by what sounded like convincing scenarios – one involving the caller’s bank, and the other from people pretending to be police officers – and have ended up losing thousands of pounds to criminals.
‘Crimes like this cause deep distress to victims, who often feel embarrassed that they believed what they were being told, but offenders take care to make their requests sound both convincing and urgent.
‘I want to stress that the police, nor any financial institution, would call you out of the blue and ask you for your bank cards, cash or any financial details.
Two residents in Northamptonshire were cruelly tricked out of thousands of pounds by scammers posing as officials from a bank and the Met Police
The force’s Economic Crime Unit has now issued a stark warning to the public to remain vigilant, particularly urging people to speak to elderly or vulnerable family members
In both cases, the victims were contacted by what police describes as ‘convincing’ callers who persuaded them to hand over confidential information and large sums of money
‘If you receive an unexpected call from someone claiming to be from the police, ask for their collar number then hang up, wait five minutes and then call 101 to verify or report what has happened.
‘You will hear a pre-recorded operator message at the start of your call – if not, hang up again and use a different phone if possible.
‘We know courier fraudsters often target people in the same area over a number of days, to make the collection of any money or bank cards easier for them, so we are urgently asking people to be alert to this sort of crime, including talking to elderly or potentially vulnerable relatives, friends and neighbours to help people spot and avoid such scams.’
It comes after a Chinese student in Northern Ireland was conned out of £200,000 in 2023 after two men posing as Beijing police officers threatened her with arrest if she did not pay up.
After the transferal of funds, the woman never heard from the men again.
Detective Superintendent Richard Thornton said at the time: ‘This is a really despicable, calculated crime.
‘These fraudsters contacted the student online, and even went as far as dressing in uniforms claiming to be officers from ‘Beijing Police’.
‘These fraudsters went to great lengths to make themselves appear genuine, but that’s the last thing they were.’
And in October, urgent warnings were being circulated after a man dressed up as a traffic warden tried to scam a woman out of £4,000.
The victim – who had just parked her car near a hospital – was told she must hand over her bank card or she would be fined.
Moments later, the fraudster opened the car door and jumped out before making a run for it with the motorist’s card.
Police said that soon after, the woman received a message from her bank saying that a £4,000 withdrawal had attempted to be made on her account. The suspicious bank had fortunately stopped the transaction.
