Scam calls pretending to be police officers reported in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire Police have warned residents to be cautious when taking unknown calls
Last updated 13th Jan 2022
Police in North Yorkshire have said they have received a number of reports from the public of scammers pretending to be police officers.
There have been three reports in 24 hours of fake police officer calls to members of the public, where scammers calls pretending to be from the police saying that a relative has been arrested after trying to fraudulently use their bank card.
They then put their 'colleague' on the phone who is allegedly with the arrested relative and then advise you to withdraw all money from your bank account in cash.
They say, an ‘officer’ or courier will come round to collect the money for safekeeping.
The first officer claims to be ‘Sergeant White' from the ‘York Serious Crime Team’ and then passes the caller onto their colleague ‘Timothy White' at 'Brixton Police’.
In these most recent examples, the call is from a York phone number using a tactic known as number spoofing, where a fraudster can make it appear to be a different number they are calling from.
In a statement North Yorkshire Police, said:
"It’s an age-old scam which has been resulted in hundreds of people losing thousands of pounds over the years, and some have even lost their entire life savings.
"You might think you’re too clever to ever believe these calls but trust us when we say no one is immune to it.
"Please let as many people know about this as possible, we can only protect our communities from falling victim by spreading the word far and wide.
"The police or your bank will never call and ask you to move or transfer money. Never. Hang up immediately if you get a call like this.
"If you want to check whether your account is secure, use a different phone to call your bank’s customer service number."