NEWS

Warning from Police over fraudulent phone calls

Residents in the Gloucestershire area are being told to take care when answering their phones, as cold callers are pretending to be police officers in an attempt to steal credit card information.

The caller will inform you that they are from the Metropolitan Police and that your card (or the card of someone close to you) has recently been used somewhere suspicious, often London, and will give you a number to call them back on.

Do NOT call them back.

Picture by Yukiko Matsuoka
Picture by Yukiko Matsuoka

A police spokesperson said: “Enquiries are still ongoing into these incidents to trace who is responsible.”

“We continue to urge members of the public to follow our crime prevention advice to avoid falling victim to this scam.”

“A police officer will never ask for your bank or card details. If you get a call like this, hang up and wait at least five minutes before attempting to make another call to ensure you’re not reconnected to the offender, or use a different phone. Never give your PIN, security or bank details to anyone over the phone. Never withdraw money and send it, or your bank cards, to anyone via a courier, taxi or by any other means.”

If this ever happens to you, please inform your local authorities.

The culprits still remain at large. We’ll be updating this story as it develops.

Picture by Michael Kooiman
Picture by Michael Kooiman

For any help on the issue, Gloucestershire police have a website to report on fraud:

https://www.gloucestershire.police.uk/what-do-i-do-if/i-have-been-a-victim-of-crime/i-have-been-a-victim-of-fraud/

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