Hello everyone,
Amongst all the heady excitements and pleasures of the approaching festive season, I have received two connected messages from the police reminding us of the ever-present dangers out there, regardless of the time of the year.
The first one concerned an elderly couple in Honiton who were swindled out of thousands of pounds after being contacted by someone purporting to be a detective working undercover at a local police station.
The second message is regarding a recent spate of similar fraud crimes in rural East Devon, so thought these were worth passing on and, although you perhaps are confident that you wouldn’t fall for it, if you have a vulnerable neighbour or friend who might just be taken in by such calls, it might be worth warning them.
Thanks,
Michael
Honiton couple swindled out of thousands of pounds
An elderly couple from Honiton have a been swindled out of thousands of pounds after they were contacted by men pretending to be detectives. The couple received numerous calls from a withheld number where a man claimed to be a detective working undercover at the local police station. The man also claimed he was part of a national operation to identify counterfeit money within the local area and advised he was ‘recruiting’ the victims as undercover civilians to gather money to be checked.
On Wednesday 4 December, the man asked the victim to gather seven thousand euros which was collected later that evening by an unknown man. He has since been described as being Afro-Caribbean.
On Thursday 5 December, a similar incident occurred where the victim was asked to gather more money. The victim’s wife drove to several local banks and building societies to withdraw approximately eleven thousand pounds.
That evening, a different man attended the victims’ home and collected the money. He was described as being a Middle Eastern male.
Police were later alerted and an investigation was launched. Enquiries are currently ongoing including house-to-house enquiries and checking local CCTV.
Anyone with information specific to this case is asked to contact police via the police website or by calling 101 quoting 50240308379.
If you think you have been a victim of fraud, a scam, or online crime (cybercrime) you can report it to Action Fraud:online on 0300 123 2040 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm).
Impersonating Police Officer Fraud
There has been a recent spate of fraud crimes in rural East Devon where victims have received missed calls from suspects pretending to be Police Officers.
They will provide their name, shoulder number, and state they work in a local Police Station. They will then request the victim to withdraw money and take it home for collection to assist in their investigation.
This is a common national crime. Police will never ask for you to send or withdraw money. If you every receive a call from a Police Officer and you are unsure of their identity, you can call 999 to check their identification.
Message Sent By
Katrina Catton
(Police, NBM, Honiton)