Warning after woman is targeted by telephone scammers
Police are urging residents to be vigilant after an elderly woman was targeted by telephone scammers.
The incident was reported to police on Tuesday, March 10, by a bank in Bury St Edmunds, after a woman, aged in her 80s, from a nearby village, was persuaded to transfer a large sum of money by telephone scammers pretending to be from the fraud department.
The woman was also persuaded to withdraw some of the cash and it was later collected by a female courier.
Courier fraud occurs when a fraudster contacts a victim by telephone and purports to be a police officer, bank or from a government department, among other agencies.
A number of techniques will then be adopted in order to convince the victim to hand over their bank details or cash, which may then be passed on to a courier.
Officers are urging residents not to hand over cash or cards to callers under similar circumstances.
Scammers are known to make calls like this to convince people into handing over money, bank cards or personal information.
Police are keen to hear from anyone who may have received a similar type of telephone call or have any information about this incident.
Anyone with any information should contact Suffolk police, quoting crime number: 37/15013/20
Website – http://www.suffolk.police.uk/contact-us/existing-report-update
Email – daniel.witter@suffolk.pnn.police.uk
Phone – call 101.