South Yorkshire Police issuing warning after man scammed out of £7k on Christmas Eve
People in South Yorkshire are being urged look out for the signs of courier fraud after a Doncaster man lost over £7,000 to fraudsters pretending to be police officers
Police have issued advice after a man has been scammed out of thousands of pounds, after fraudsters pretended to be police officers.
On Tuesday (24 December), the man, who is in his 80s, received a phone call from an unknown number claiming to be a police officer at a station based in Doncaster.
The man was asked to help in an ‘undercover operation’ focused on employees at a local bank. He was asked to withdraw money and then hand it over to a courier who would attend his home address. He ended up being scammed out of £7,450.
Police have received five other reports of similar fraudulent calls from people pretending to be police officers made to South Yorkshire residents in the last week.
Officers from the fraud team are now warning people to be aware of this particular type of scam.
Courier fraud involves victims receiving a phone call from a criminal pretending to be from the police or another official organisation, such as a bank.
The fraudster claims there is an issue with the victim's bank account or requests the victim's help in an ongoing bank or police investigation. Victims are then asked to withdraw a large sum of money which will be collected by a courier for 'evidence'.
For advice and tips to help spot the signs of courier fraud, click here.
People can report fraud to Action Fraud, either online via this link by calling them on 0300 123 2040.