Warning issued as scammers pretended to be police in Derby
People are being urged to remain vigilant after residents in two areas of Derby received phone calls from scammers pretending to be police officers. The calls, which took place in Mickleover[1] and Allestree, involved a call out of the blue falsely claiming to be Derbyshire police officers called Officer Wilcox and PC Anderton. Derbyshire police[2] have issued the warning and said that the scammer claimed there had been suspicious bank activity from the potential victims and asked to meet them near a local police station.
The police warning added: “Scams like these will rely on the victim co-operating by giving details, bank cards or cash to the ‘officer’ or a courier. “Fortunately, in each of these cases details were not provided and the victim called us to confirm whether the officer was legitimate before providing any details or attending the meeting.” POLL: Do you feel safe in Derby city centre?[3]
Detective Sergeant Emily Kershaw said: “If you receive a call out of the blue, always remain cautious and to remember to stop, think and tell. “As officers, we will never ask for personal or financial details like bank card numbers or account codes, and police or banks will never need to collect your bank cards to investigate fraud. We would always recommend contacting us via non-emergency means to verify that an officer and their enquiries are genuine.”
“Please also make sure you share this message with friends and family, in particular with any older or potentially vulnerable relatives and neighbours, to ensure they know how to best protect themselves from these types of schemes.” To avoid becoming a victim of a police impersonation scam, remember:
- Police will never call out of the blue, request secure lines or personal information. They’ll never ask you to transfer money to another account, hand over cash or bank cards to a courier, or a pay a fine or fee over the phone.
If someone asks you to do this, it’s a scam.
- If an officer contacts you in person, they will show you their warrant card. This is proof of their identify and authority.
- If someone has called you and you are unsure if they are a genuine police officer, you can hang up and call police on 101 to check their identity. It’s recommended you wait at least five minutes and make sure you can hear a dialling tone before you call, as there have been cases of fraudsters keeping the line open after a victim has hung up.
If you think you’ve been approached or contacted by a scammer, you can report it by contacting the police on the details below, or to Action Fraud, the national reporting centre, online at www.actionfraud.police.uk[4] or on 0300 123 2040:
Website – There are crime reporting tools on the website: use our online contact form[5][6] Facebook[7] – send a private message to the Derbyshire Constabulary Facebook page Twitter – direct message the contact centre via @DerPolContact[8][9]
Phone – call on 101
You can also contact the independent charity CrimeStoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111, or by visiting the CrimeStoppers website.[10]
References
- ^ Mickleover (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Derbyshire police (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Do you feel safe in Derby city centre? (xd.wayin.com)
- ^ www.actionfraud.police.uk (www.actionfraud.police.uk)
- ^ Website (www.derbyshire.police.uk)
- ^ use our online contact form (www.derbyshire.police.uk)
- ^ Facebook (www.facebook.com)
- ^ Twitter (twitter.com)
- ^ @DerPolContact (twitter.com)
- ^ CrimeStoppers website. (crimestoppers-uk.org)