Vulnerable Sussex Residents Increasingly Targeted By Fraudsters

Friday, 4 September 2020 09:00

By Charlotte Baker @Ch4rtweets

Police are warning residents in Sussex after seeing a rise in unsolicited phone calls and reports of courier fraud.

Courier fraud is where fraudsters call victims pretending to be from police, a bank, or another trusted organisation and request money or information.

In July and August Sussex Police received 91 reports of courier fraud relating to vulnerable victims.

There were 25 cases where losses were recorded, totalling £243.035.

On 13 August, police received a report that a 76-year-old woman in Horsham was called by a man pretending to be from her bank.

She was asked to urgently attend a branch in Redhill as she had supposedly been the victim of fraud. When she said she couldn't attend, he arranged for a courier to come and collect her card and asked for her PIN number.

Two ATM withdrawals of £500 were made in Crawley.

PC Bernadette Lawrie said:

"Sadly, this is a typical example of the way criminals will prey on the elderly to steal their money. Courier fraud often specifically targets the vulnerable by exploiting their trust in the police and their bank.

"Courier fraudsters are nearly always part of wider criminal gangs who can be incredibly convincing and persuasive.

"It can be particularly intimidating for older people when scammers turn up on a victim’s doorstep and they may feel under pressure to comply with requests.

"We would urge residents to be particularly vigilant about unsolicited calls at the moment.

"You can help by encouraging older and vulnerable members of the community to double check people are who they say they are. Never feel pressure to make a decision on the spot - if in doubt, hang up the phone or shut the door.

"The police and your bank will never ask you to transfer money and will not ask for your PIN or banking password.

"We understand some victims may feel frightened or embarrassed following courier fraud and may not want to talk about it.

"We're asking anyone who has experienced this sort of crime to report it to Action Fraud or police so it can be investigated."

Police said the public can help by checking on elderly friends, relatives and neighbours, and making sur ethey know what to look out for.

Officers added that the police and bank will never phone and ask for full PIN or banking password, or ask for money to be transferred.