Police Warn Public Not to Fall for Mobile Phone Scam

The scam involves someone hacking into personal facebook accounts and then sending e-mails to the victim’s friends offering “easy money”. The victim has no idea that these e-mails have been sent.

The suspect then tries to convince the victim that he has a family member who is the manager for a mobile phone company, and if they sign up to a contract for an iPhone 4s then his family member can cancel the contract legitimately and give the victim £80 for the handset.

The suspect then tells the victim that they can make a further £300 by registering as an employee with an agency. They take bank details and within 20 minutes, £300 appears in the bank account of the victim. The suspect then requests half of the £300 for registration with the agency.

The £300 turns out to be a high-interest loan taken out using the victim’s name and bank details. By the time the victim realises this, they have been lumbered with a loan and a phone contract that they must make payments on.

PC Morgan Cox of Stockton Police said: “Please don’t fall for scams such as this. If something sounds too good to be true then it generally is.”

Anyone with information on this scam should call PC Morgan Cox of Stockton Police on 01642 302226 or call the charity Crimestoppers anonymously.