Warning over telephone scam targeting elderly and vulnerable

Police are warning residents of a telephone scam that targets the elderly and vulnerable on the borough.

The caller claims to be a police officer and says they have someone in custody that has been caught using a copy of the victim’s bank card.

They then say they need the original card to progress the investigation and ask the victim to take the card to a police station. They also ask for the card PIN number.

The victims will usually not be in a position to physically take their card to a police station so the suspect offers to have it collected by a courier. When the card has been collected the victim’s bank account is quickly cleared out.

Since January 2011 to March this year there have been 2429 offences of this type in London. The average financial loss to the victim is £4168.

Anyone with information about these kinds of scams call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.