Warning After Elderly Victim Was Almost Scammed out of Thousands of Pounds Over The Phone

Officers from the Economic Crime Unit are warning members of the public about courier fraud after a victim in his 90s was almost scammed over the phone.

Cleveland Police received a report that the victim had been called from someone claiming to be from Amazon yesterday (17^th Oct) stating that the victim’s Amazon account had been hacked into.

The caller then asked the victim to call his bank to discuss the issue (the victim hung up, but the caller stayed on the line and then claimed to be a member of the bank).

The victim was asked to go to his bank by the fraudster to withdraw thousands of pounds.  When he arrived at the bank, staff realised he was being scammed and stopped the money from being withdrawn.

Officers want to warn people of this potential scam and would ask members of the public with elderly relatives and friends to make them aware of yesterday’s incident.

A reputable organisation or bank would never ask you to withdraw cash or ask for your personal details such as bank account details.

If you receive a call of this nature, end the call and contact a family member or trusted individual for advice or if you need to contact your bank to check the call you received was legitimate, wait five minutes as the fraudster may stay on the line after you hang up. Alternatively use a different line altogether to contact your bank.

If you have been a victim of courier fraud or know someone who has, please report this to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or Cleveland Police on 101.

Some people are often too embarrassed to admit they have been a victim of a scam but it is important that Cleveland Police are informed so everything to be done to bring those responsible to justice.