Beware of scammers pretending to be police officers over the phone

Nottinghamshire Police have received reports of scammers contacting individuals via the telephone and pretending to either be police officers, Scotland Yard, or bank staff.People are reminded that no genuine organisation will ever send someone to your door to collect cash, bank cards or other goods.

If someone calls you who claims to be a police officer, ask for their collar number, hang up, wait a few minutes, dial 101 and ask for that officer.

The same if someone calls claiming to be your bank. Do not share any personal information. Hang up, wait a few minutes, and call the number on the back of your bank card or from your bank statement.

Please make your friends, neighbours and relatives aware of this scam.

Fraudsters purposely target vulnerable people via the telephone and tell them to not tell anybody about the situation and fraudsters will give their victims a story to tell bank staff if they are asked the reason for the cash withdrawal, such as they're buying a new car or giving it to a relative.

The Police will never contact you and ask for your assistance with an investigation or an undercover operation. Hang up on these calls and report to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or online at www.actionfraud.police.uk. If you believe you have lost money to this scam, call Nottinghamshire Police on 101 to report to us as soon as possible.

Once scammers have targeted you for a scam, they keep contact lists and share this around to other fraudsters, meaning you will be persistently targeted. If this is happening to you, it's worth installing a call blocking unit.

Ways to protect yourselves from scam telephone calls include calling your provider to make your number ex-directory and asking if they have any scam call shield services, registering your number with the Telephone Preference Service or installing a call blocker/phone with an inbuilt call blocking feature.

Please support your Chad by becoming a digital subscriber. You will see 70 per cent fewer ads on stories, meaning faster load times and an overall enhanced user experience. Click here to subscribe.