Northamptonshire bank staff stopped tricksters taking £250,000 in the first six months of 2020

Police field 24 calls reporting bogus callers telling elderly and vulnerable to take out cash
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Alert bank staff stopped nearly £250,000 going into the pockets of fraudsters in Northamptonshire during the first of 2020.

Branch workers are trained to spot warning signs of account holders — many elderly and vulnerable — falling for scams aimed at taking their cash.

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Despite banks being closed for all of April and May, their work resulted in 64 emergency calls to Northamptonshire Police between January and June with 24 crimes reported worth £249,585.

Katy Worobec, Managing Director of Economic Crime, UK Finance, said: “It is sickening that criminals are preying on elderly and vulnerable victims during this difficult time. Bank branch staff and police on the frontline are doing a heroic job in stopping these cruel scams and helping bring those responsible to justice.

“It’s vital that people always follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign, and remember that a bank or the police will never ask you to transfer funds to another account or to withdraw cash to hand over to them for safe-keeping.”

One victim in Northamptonshire spoke out after falling victim to a very sophisticated scam where the fraudster pretended to be a police officer investigating corruption in her bank.

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Detective Inspector Tania Ash, said: “As you can see from the video where one of our victims of courier fraud bravely speaks out, these scams can be very sophisticated and can result in devastating losses .

Elderly and vulnerable people are a frequent target for bogus callers asking for cash or bank detailsElderly and vulnerable people are a frequent target for bogus callers asking for cash or bank details
Elderly and vulnerable people are a frequent target for bogus callers asking for cash or bank details

“Often, vulnerable victims are sworn to secrecy or made to feel that there are severe consequences to others or their finances if they tell anyone what’s going on.

“People carrying out these scams are exceptionally clever and know how to manipulate their victims by making them feel panicked and rushed into actions."

Another case in the county, drove the victim to his bank to withdraw more than £6,000 after pretending to be selling solar-powered technology. But suspicious bank staff called police and a man was arrested on suspicion of fraud.

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Detective Inspector Ash, continued: “This is a great example of how the banks can work with us to challenge potential incidents of fraud. Instead of this man losing several thousand pounds, a man was arrested for attempting to defraud him.”

National data shows that customers helped through the Banking Protocol are typically aged over 65 while some were over 100 years old, demonstrating how these scams are often targeted towards the elderly and vulnerable.Tips to avoid becoming a courier fraud victim include:

■ Neither banks or the police will ever ask for your PIN or arrange collection of your bank card

■ Your bank and the police will never ask you to make high-value purchases or withdraw cash to send for examination

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■ Your bank, the police and any genuine organisation will never contact you and ask for your online banking details or to move money to another account

■ If you receive one of these calls, end it immediately and contact the police and your bank via a different phone line, using a number you have verified. If you do not have another phone, hang up and wait five minutes until the line has fully cleared