Warning about bogus police officers in phone-call scam

Residents in Mansfield and Ashfield have been warned about a scam in which fraudsters pretend to be police officers.
Scammers, pretending to be police officers, have been calling people and tricking them out of their bank account details.Scammers, pretending to be police officers, have been calling people and tricking them out of their bank account details.
Scammers, pretending to be police officers, have been calling people and tricking them out of their bank account details.

Nottinghamshire Police says it has received a spike in reports of phone calls to households across the county from conmen saying they are “from the fraud squad”.

Impersonating officers, they tell the victims that their “bank account has been compromised” and that, in order to catch the suspects, money needs to be transferred to another bank account.

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The scammers then trick the victims into releasing their bank account details.

Police spokeswoman Fiona Price told the Chad about another similar con that has been devised by the bogus officers.

She said: “They say that a person has been arrested in possession of the victim’s bank card, so money needs to be transferred to a ‘safe’ account or sent in the post to a certain address.

"In some instances, victims have even been told they need to travel to London to buy a Rolex watch.”

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The Nottinghamshire force is now urging people not to fall for such phone scams.

Fiona added: “The police would NEVER contact you and ask for your assistance with an investigation or an undercover operation.

"Hang up on these calls and report them to our Action Fraud department on 0300 123 2040, or by going online at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

"If you believe you have lost money to this scam, call Nottinghamshire Police on 101 to report it to us as soon as possible.”

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The police say there are several ways in which you can protect yourself from scam calls. These include making your number ex-directory or ensuring your phone has a built-in call-blocker feature.

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