Sheffield woman, 90, hit by latest £12,000 phone con - and how to avoid the scammers

South Yorkshire Police say the woman was targeted on April 17 by a scammer who was pretending to be a police officer calling her from London about someone trying to take money out her bank account.

The woman was told a person had been trying to take money from her account and that she should call 999. The victim dialled that number but, without her knowing, she was connected back to the fraudulent caller.

The caller, posing as a different police officer, then told the woman to withdraw a large quantity of money for 'evidential purposes'.

The woman did this and put the money in an envelope before handing it to a courier who visited her home address. She ended up being scammed out of £12,500.

Police are now urging family and friends of those potentially vulnerable to fraud to share the signs of courier fraud after this incident.

Fraud Protect Officer, Charlotte Platts, said: "The victims often targeted in courier fraud are elderly so please check in with your loved ones who may be vulnerable to this form of fraud. Make sure to share the below advice so they are less likely to fall victim to these callous fraudsters.

"In this incident, the fraudsters cunningly manipulated the victim by urging her to call 999 - making it sound like they had the victim's best interests in mind.

"However, scammers have been known to stay on the line after you hang up so when you ring another number you are connected back to the scammers. If you do get a call, and need to call your bank or the police to check, make sure you use a different phone or wait 20 to 30 minutes."

Police today issued the following advice:

> The police or your bank will never call you to ask you to verify your financial details by phone. Hang up if you get a call like this.

> Don’t let a stranger take your bank card from you. You should only ever have to hand it over at your bank.

> You can find dedicated fraud prevention advice on our SYP Cyber Crime and Fraud Facebook page - https://orlo.uk/c0ecy

If you think you have been a victim of a fraud, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or go online to www.actionfraud.police.uk.

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