Courier Fraud Advice #PreventCrime

Good afternoon,

Officers investigating a number of courier fraud incidents in Petersfield are issuing crime prevention advice and asking people to stay vigilant to possible fraudulent phone calls.

Over the past two weeks, we have seen a concerning rise in courier fraud incidents reported in the Petersfield area. 

Courier fraud is when criminals target potential victims, often those who are elderly or vulnerable members of the community, by cold calling them and pretending to be police officers, a bank or another law enforcement authority.  

The caller will explain that they need the victim’s help in a secret investigation that they are running and once ‘trust’ has been established, they ask the victim to provide their PIN and credit card details, or to attend their bank and withdraw thousands of pounds in cash. 

The bank cards or cash are later collected from their home address by a courier, who is part of the criminal group. Often, the victim will be given a ‘password’ to exchange with the courier, to make them believe this is a legitimate and secure transaction. 

Sadly, this money will then often be lost to the fraudsters.

Between Thursday 28 August and Thursday 11 September, there have been six reported incidents where elderly victims have been targeted in Petersfield and have lost, on average, £6,000.

Bedford Road, Noreuil Road, The Spain, Heath Road and Wetherdown have all been visited by criminals pretending to be couriers appointed by the ‘police’.

Wherever you live, we are asking people that when answering the phone to a stranger, please take a few minutes to think about what you are being asked.  

If they are asking for bank cards/details, cash, jewellery, watches or gold to be handed over, or for you to transfer money from your bank account and into another ‘safe’ bank account, then Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary are 100% confident that this is a fake call which should be terminated immediately.

You may be asked to call your bank using the phone number on the back of your card, or to hang up and call 101 or 999 to verify an officer’s identity. This convinces you that the call is genuine, but the scammer has kept the line open at their end, so when you make the call, you are unknowingly connected straight back to them or their friends.

If you receive a call like this, please wait 15 minutes after hanging up before calling the police or your bank, or use a different phone, to ensure that the line is no longer open. 

We are aware that not everyone reads social media, but if you have elderly or vulnerable members of your family then please share this information and give the following advice:

- Your bank or the police will never ring you to tell you they are coming to your home to pick up money or your card. Never hand these over to anyone who comes to collect it.

- Criminals are experts at impersonating banks, trusted organisations or the police. They will try to rush and panic you into responding to their requests. It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore these requests.

For general fraud prevention advice please visit https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ , or find more information on our website at https://www.hampshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/fraud/personal-fraud/door-to-door-courier-fraud/If you think you maybe have been a victim of courier fraud, or have received a call of this nature, please report this to us by calling 101, or go online to report at https://www.hampshire.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/

If this isn't relevant to you, please share it with someone who might be interested.

If you’ve received a phishing email please forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk 

If you’ve received unwanted phone calls or texts from people you think are trying to scam you, but you haven’t engaged with them, please forward the text/phone number to 7726.

If you've been affected by a crime please contact Victim Care Hub for free, confidential support: Home - Hampshire Victim Care Hub (hampshireiowvictimcare.co.uk) or phone 0808 178 1641

If you would like to report a crime anonymously please contact: Independent UK charity taking crime information anonymously | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org) or phone 0800 555 111

Hampshire Alerts is not a crime reporting portal – please do not report crime here.

If you realise you’ve been scammed and wish to report a fraud that has already happened, please report it to Action Fraud either phone 0300 123 2040 or online at: Action Fraud

If a crime is in progress, and/or you are in fear for yourself or someone else, and/or there is evidence in situ that could be damaged/destroyed, please phone 999 immediately. 

Otherwise, report online, or find out about other ways to report a crime at: Report a crime | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary

Thank you – Fraud Safeguarding Team