The latest scam targeting the over 60s

Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime has reported that over £10 million has been lost by victims to courier fraud since the start of this year. This is up almost two thirds compared to the same period last year.

What is courier fraud?

Courier fraud is when a victim receives a phone call from a criminal who is pretending to be a police officer or bank official. The victims are usually told to withdraw a sum of money, and someone will collect it from their home address.

It is also not unusual for the criminals to tell the victims to transfer money to a “secure” bank account, hand over their bank cards or give the criminals high value items such as jewellery, watches or gold.

Victims have also been encouraged to buy gold by the criminals, who claim that it is “part of a police investigation”. The gold is then collected by a courier on behalf of the criminals.

There have also been cases of the criminals inviting themselves into the victim’s homes and collecting other valuables under the guise of them no longer being safe in the house. In this instance they tell the victim that as police officials they can safeguard them. Or the criminals have told the victim to stay on the phone to them while they get the cash out, or go to a jewellers as this can stop the victim interacting with others, or having time to think about what it is they are really doing.

Who is targeted?

Since the start of this year, Action Fraud has received 2,060 reports of courier fraud, with an average loss of just over £5,000 per victim.

Almost two thirds of the victims who have reports such a crime were aged 70 to 89 years old. And over three quarters of victims were over 60.

How to protect yourself and your loved ones

Your bank or the police will never call you to ask to verify personal details or a PIN by phone. Nor will they ever offer to pick up your bank card by courier. If you receive a call like this, hang up immediately.

You can call your bank to check that the call was legitimate. But if you want to do this, it is advised that you wait five minutes as fraudsters may stay on the line after you hang up. Where possible, use a completely different line to contact your bank and make sure you call them back on a number listed on their website, or on the back of your credit, or debit card.

Finally, your credit or debit card is yours; don’t let strangers take it from you. You should never have to hand over your card at your bank, and you should always destroy cancelled or expired cards yourself.

Action Fraud encourage you to follow the advice in the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign.

1.     Stop: take some time to stop and think about what is happening before you part with any money.

2.     Challenge: It is okay to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try and rush or panic you.

3.     Protect: if you think you have been a victim of Fraud, contact your bank as soon as possible and report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.