Phone fraudsters target residents in Sittingbourne and Faversham
They’ve been pretending to be police officers
Police in Kent say there have been 13 recent incidents where people have pretended to be police officers, to steal cash over the phone.
The reports of attempted fraud in Sittingbourne and Faversham saw offenders claiming there had been criminal activity linked to their victims bank accounts.
They then instructed them to withdraw large amounts of cash, telling them it'd be collected by a courier.
Inspector Julia Bassindale said: ‘While most of those who received these calls suspected they were bogus, one of the victims had around £7,000 in cash stolen and an investigation is underway to establish the full circumstances.
‘These criminals can be very persuasive and will often target pensioners and other vulnerable people in our communities. Please remember, a police officer would never ask a member of the public for their bank details or money over the phone. If you receive a similar call, the advice is to hang up immediately and report it to Kent Police.'
Further advice:
• If you are not confident a person who calls you claiming to be a police officer is genuine, ask to take their details and end the call.
• Wait for at least five minutes for the call to clear and then contact 101, or 999 in an emergency. A call handler will be able to verify whether your caller was genuine.
• Never hand over any money, or other items, to a courier after receiving this type of call.
Anybody with information relating to these incidents is urged to call the appeals line on 01795 419119. You can also contact Action Fraud on 0300 1232040 or report suspicious activity online by visiting their website.