Police in Nottinghamshire have warned residents to be on their guard after several reports of individuals contacting unsuspecting people by phone and then claiming to be a police officer.
These low-lifes have been trying to convince people to share their bank details so that they can be ‘relieved’ of their cash and life savings.
A spokesperson for the force said:
‘We continue to receive reports in Nottinghamshire where people have been targeted by someone pretending to be a police officer.
‘They normally tell the victim that they’re investigating some fraudulent activity on their bank account and then ask them to provide some bank details.
‘They sometimes trick the victim into verifying they are legitimate by calling them back on 999, when they in fact remain on the line the entire time’.
It is not known as to how many people may have so-far fallen victim to this callous scam.
A real police officer would NEVER call a member of the public asking them to disclose personal or financial information and then instruct them to take immediate financial action.
If you receive a call you’re not sure about it, always insist on verifying the callers identity.
If you’re calling them back, use a number known to be connected to the organisation in question, not the one provided by the caller.
For the police, it’s 101 and make sure you insist on talking to the named officer.
Make this call from a separate telephone line to the one that the call was received if you can.
If you don’t have one, wait at least 10 minutes before calling on the same line.
Legitimate organisations will understand you wanting to make these steps and will not take issue with it.
Please continue to spread the word ensuring elderly or vulnerable loved ones and neighbours are aware of these types of scams.
If you believe that you have been called by a bogus police officer, please report the incident to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre, on 0300 123 2040 or via www.actionfraud.police.uk.
If you think you’ve lost money through this scam, please call the police on 101 so that they can preserve evidence as quickly as possible.
If you have a story, video or one-off blog that you would like to share with us, then you can contact our team of former emergency services & armed forces personnel either through our Facebook page, via twitter ( @ES_News_ ) or you can contact us via email: contact@emergency-services.news
If you run or manage a ‘job’ social media account and you would like us to share one of your stories then send us a tweet or a message!
If you would like to write an article that you would like us to share (it can be about anything to do with the emergency services / NHS) whether you serve in the emergency services / NHS or whether you are a member of the public that has had a good experience with the emergency services, then feel free to contact our team; anonymously if you prefer.
We are proud to act as a voice for the Emergency Services & Health Service, with over 500,000 people visiting our website each month.
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
tell them you’ll ring back tomorrow, hang up, and don’t bother. If you want a bit of fun, give them a long-winded ‘reason’ why you can’t call back straight away.