Elderly residents in Gloucestershire warned of courier fraud after huge increase in the county
There have been over 100 incidents in the past two months
Elderly residents in Gloucestershire are being warned about courier fraud following a huge increase of incidents in the county.
Gloucestershire Police have received over 100 reports of people being scammed over the past two months.
They've been scammed into handing over large amounts of cash - with one woman handing over nearly £15,000 over a three-day period.
How does the scam work?
Organised criminals begin by ringing up people on their landline telephones pretending to be a police officer from Gloucestershire Police.
The fraudster tells the victim they're conducting a secret investigation, usually into corrupt staff at the victim's local bank.
They're then asked to go to their bank and withdraw a large amount of cash of around £5,000 to £10,000.
After more conversations on the phone, the fraudster tells the victim the cash is counterfeit and needs to be taken by the police for their investigation.
The victim is then told a police courier will come and collect the money from them.
Sometimes the scammers ask someone to buy foreign currency instead, typically in Euros, and on other occasions they've been asked to purchase Rolex watches, other expensive jewellery and even mobile phones.
The victim can be asked to repeat the process several times which increase their losses.
Who are the victims?
The average victim of courier fraud in Gloucestershire is 81-year-old.
Fraudsters will normally find victims through public residential landline telephone numbers as the victims they target are more likely to use one.
"I'm so ashamed"
One elderly woman in Gloucestershire was approached by fraudsters and handed over £15,000 to them over the period of three-days earlier this year.
The woman from Gloucester, who wanted to remian anonymous, said: "What happened to me has badly shaken my view of myself as a competent, reasonably intelligent woman normally able to navigate the modern world.
"I am so ashamed – my behaviour is completely out of character for me.
"For a long time to come, certain areas of Gloucester will be forever tainted by the memory of this event.
"My life will always be divided into ‘before the fraud’ and ‘after the scam’".
Who are the criminals?
Courier fraud is being carried out by organised crime groups (OCGs) usually from Metropolitan areas in the country.
They target a specific area in the country for around one to two weeks before moving onto another area.
Sometimes the fraudsters will recruit local people to be the 'couriers' as they are operating from another area of the country.
After victims and law enforcement becoming aware of their criminal activity in larger cities like London, the OCGs have breached out into more rural areas to commit their crimes.
What are Gloucestershire Police doing about it?
Gloucestershire Constabulary are cracking down on these crimes with a 'protect' and 'pursue' response.
They currently have officers on the beat spreading awareness of the crimes with local residents and are also using social and broadcast media and leaflets to raise awareness of the issue.
They've begun mapping out the hotspots of where the fraud is being committed so they can continue to ramp up efforts in those areas.
As part of their investigations, they also collect forensic evidence if there's been a physical interaction between the victim and the fraudster.
They also meticulously scour telecoms information to pin point where calls have been made and use CCTV footage as well.
Detective Sergeant Simon Shaw, from the Economics Crime Unit, said: "All fraud, including courier fraud, is a challenge for law enforcement as there are geographical challenges which you don't get with other types of crime.
"We are working with regional and national partners to pursue these criminals.
"It is on the increase in our area at the moment but I'm confident we're doing everything we can to infiltrate these gangs.
"I would say to anyone who has been a victim of fraud to report it to us. Also anyone who thinks they may have been called by a fraudster as well. The more information we can get the better as it helps us understand how they work."