Fraud !

You may have seen in the news this week that there has been a nationwide increased police response to courier fraud resulting in numerous arrests.

(https://www.essex.police.uk/news/essex/news/news/2020/january/two-arrested-for-five-essex-courier-frauds-where-men-posed-as-bank-workers/)

REMEMBER:

The police and your bank will NEVER ask for your full password, bank details or PIN numbers.

They will NEVER ask for you to transfer or hand any money over to them.

Common Example of Courier Fraud:

• You receive a phone call out of the blue claiming to be from the police or your bank
• They give you a plausible reason for calling – i.e. there has been fraudulent activity on your account, or they are investigating corrupt bank staff.
• They ask you for your PIN number.
• They advise that they will send a “courier” to collect your bank card.
• They now have everything they need to be able to access your bank account and money.

There are of course variations of this scam. You may be asked to leave your bank cards on the doorstep to be collected overnight. Alternatively, the caller may ask you to go into the bank, withdraw a large amount of cash, and this will be collected from you and used as ‘evidence’.

Remember, if something doesn’t seem right, STOP. THINK. PROTECT.

• Stop. Hang up the phone.
• Think. Would the police or the bank really be asking you to do this?
• Protect. Contact the bank or police back on a trusted number, preferably from a different phone to the one you were called on. Talk to friends or family to get their opinion.