Couple duped by fraudsters who steal £1,000

A couple in Bures St Mary have been duped out of £1,000 by fraudsters while a woman in Cavendish turned away a man from her door who claimed to work for a bank and wanted to exchange her bank card and PIN number.

The first incident took place on Tuesday, April 7, when an elderly couple in Friends Field, in Bures St Mary, were defrauded out of £1,000.

The victims received two calls between 11.15am and 11.30am from a withheld number claiming to be from the banking fraud team. They were told they had been the victims of a fraud and that someone would come to their home to collect their banks cards, pin numbers and issue new cards.

A man then attended their home address and collected their bank cards, leaving an envelope for the victims, claiming they were replacement bank cards.

The couple’s bank cards were then used at around 11.50am to withdraw sums totalling £1,000 from the HSBC ATM in Market Hill, Sudbury.

The man who collected the cards is described as black, with shoulder-length dreadlocks, aged in his 20s. He was wearing a yellow high-visibility jacket.

The second incident took place at around 1pm yesterday, Wednesday, April 8, in Peacocks Road, Cavendish.

An elderly woman received calls from a man stating he worked for Barclays bank and that he and a colleague would shortly visit her home address to exchange her bank card and pin number for a new one.

Two men arrived at the address and tried to hand over a Marks & Spencer gift card in exchange, however, the victim refused to hand over her bank card. The offenders then left the property.

The first man is described as black, shorter than 5ft 10ins tall, of slim build and aged in his 20s. He had short hair and was wearing dark, casual clothes and a high-visibility jacket. The second man was described as black, with dreadlocks. He was also wearing a high-visibility jacket.

Police are urging people to take a moment to think before parting with their money or personal information.

Detective Sergeant Paul Cappleman said: “Just take a few moments to think – has the approach come from a cold call, or unexpected text or email? Could it be fake? It’s okay to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Remember, the police, or your bank, will never ask you to withdraw money, transfer it to a different account or ask you to reveal your full banking password or pin number.”

Police believe the incidents may be connected and would like to speak to anyone with any information about this incident or who saw anything suspicious.

Anyone with any information, including dash cam footage from Market Hill, Sudbury, at around the time of the cash withdrawals, should contact Suffolk police, quoting crime reference number 37/20122/20 for the incident in Bures St Mary or 37/20324/20 for the incident in Cavendish, via:

Website – http://www.suffolk.police.uk/contact-us/existing-report-update

Email – Paul.Cappleman@suffolk.pnn.police.uk

Crimestoppers – Contact the independent charity Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their online form: www.crimestoppers-uk.org

Phone – Call 101.

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