Fraud warning after bogus calls are received across the county

Police are warning residents to be vigilant following a number of reports of fraudulent phone calls being received this week.

26 scam phone calls have been reported county-wide with fraudsters claiming to be from the HMRC, internet providers or bogus police officers.

The calls state that the recipient either has a warrant out for their arrest after their national insurance number had been comprised  compromised or that they had overdue tax payments to make.

Further reports were received about people pretending to be internet providers needing to access devices, to resolve an issue or allow for a refund to be processed. On one occasion the victim was asked to transfer money and on another scammers remotely accessed their laptop and deleted files.

Telephone numbers can easily be spoofed (faked) so anyone who gets a call which they are suspicious about is advised not to give any information but to tell the caller to write to them as they will have all their personal details.

The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is free and can help reduce the number of nuisance and scam calls you receive. To register, please visit: https://www.tpsonline.org.uk/register

More advice to help stop you from becoming a victim of fraud is below:

• If you believe you are being targeted by a scammer hang up the phone and use a different phone line to call Action Fraud or the police, as scammers have a way to stay on the line and will pretend to be the police when you call back.

• If you don’t have access to a different phone line, wait for a period of time and try calling a family member or friend first to make sure the scammer is no longer on the line.

• Just because someone knows basic details about you like your address or date of birth, it doesn’t mean they are genuine employees/callers.

• Always question suspicious phone calls and report them to Action Fraud or the police.

• Always have a pad and pen next to the phone, if you get a suspicious call, take details, don’t get flustered, get names addresses and contact numbers then disconnect the call.

Anyone who believes they have been the victim of fraud can report this to police by calling 101 or contacting Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.