Norfolk woman conned out of over £4k by courier fraud scam
Police say they've seen a rise in the number of people being conned.
A woman from West Winch in Norfolk has been conned out of over £4,000 by fraudsters claiming to be investigating reports of fake cash.
Police say they've seen a rise in a particular scam locally, in which cold-callers tell victims they're carrying out an investigation into counterfeit money and that they need the victim to withdraw cash so it can be collected by a courier and checked.
Officers say on Tuesday 6th July a woman withdrew £4,200 following one of these calls which was then collected by a 'courier' who later called to confirm it was indeed counterfeit.
A second attempt was also made that day.
This time a man from Clenchwarton was phoned by scammers claiming to be from Hertfordshire Police, who said they were investigating a theft from the victim's bank account.
The man was asked to withdraw £9,000 which would be collected the following day.
He only managed to take out £2,000 and told a family member about the incident who immediately reported it to the police. No money was handed over.
Detective Inspector Richard Weller, from Swaffham CID, urged people to make elderly or vulnerable relatives and neighbours aware of the scam.
He said: "This type of courier fraud is nothing new; suspects will often approach victims under the guise of a police officer, bank or government department, in an effort to win trust and encourage people to go along with the scam.
"They will often use a range of techniques and in these most recent incidents, cold callers claim to be police officers investigating bank account thefts and counterfeit money.
"These scammers can be really convincing, making the caller feel they are helping a genuine police investigation, compelling them to withdraw the money. Suspects will then arrange to collect the money from the victim.
"More often than not, we're talking large sums of cash into the thousands which is ultimately people's savings and funds they rely on.
"Police officers will never ask you to withdraw money, or send someone to collect money. We know scammers target the elderly and I would urge people to make their family members, friends and neighbours aware of this scam and the warning signs."