The Alton Neighbourhood Policing team together with our colleagues in East Hampshire would like to request your help in sharing the information that follows with your friends, neighbours and relatives particularly the older generation who may not have internet access.
Unfortunately there have been a number of crimes reported recently in the East Hampshire area where members of the public are being targeted by criminals attempting to trick them into handing over large sums of cash.
On many occasions these criminals are pretending to be police officers and appear to be seeking assistance in detecting crime. They often have some personal information such as your date of birth or even the name of your bank.
The scams involved can vary but often involve a claim that the bank has substituted counterfeit money into a bank account. A request is then made to attend the bank and withdraw some money with clear instructions not to tell the bank staff.
If you have been contacted by any person stating they are a police officer (or other official) requesting you attend your bank we can advise you that this will be an attempt to steal your money.
On some occasions victims are contacted by telephone and asked to call back to verify the identity of the caller. The fraudster keeps the line open from their end to trick the victim into thinking they have dialled a new number to confirm the identity of the caller. If you are asked to call back to verify a caller telephone Hampshire police on 101 from a different telephone or mobile number if possible.
There are many other scams in circulation at the moment which involve withdrawing large sums of money or other financial transactions such as the purchase of iTunes vouchers so please be aware.
Victims are often over retirement age and are defrauded because of their trusting nature. This is generally down to the sophistication of the scam rather than the fact they may be vulnerable.
One victim of a recent fraud reported hearing the ‘police sergeant’ they were talking to on the telephone being asked if he would like a cup of tea by a ‘constable’ in the office he was calling from. It was this little detail that made them think the call was credible. It wasn’t!
No Police Officer or other person acting in an official capacity would ever contact you to ask you to withdraw money or provide details of your bank account or assist with an investigation in this way.
Please be cautious of any unsolicited call you receive from any person or company who asks you to provide any personal or financial information. If you have been a victim of a crime of this nature please call Hampshire Police on 101. For more information visit www.hampshire.police.uk
Thank you for taking time to read this and please share with as many people as you can.
Don’t be fooled……
[Please note that this message is not posted on behalf of Bentworth Parish Council and does not necessarily reflect the Parish Council’s policy]
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