St Albans district hit by spate of phone scams

Phone scams are on the rise in the St Albans district according to Herts Constabulary, with victims being duped into handing over cash, jewellery and bank cards in some incidents.

A man in his late 80s was targeted in St Albans when a thief claiming to be a fraud investigator told him he needed to withdraw a sum of money for an investigation. He then later gave the money to a courier.

Another incident in Harpenden involved a criminal claiming to be a police officer investigating fraudulent activity, but the victim recognised this as a scam and ended the call.

While in London Colney a 70-year-old man was targeted by people who said they were from his bank. They managed to obtain PIN numbers from the victim and then collected his bank cards through a courier.

Det Ins Jason Keane, from Herts Constabulary, said: “Although these numbers seem very high, this may be caused by increasing numbers of people reporting incidents as more people become aware of the scam and they are alerting us when they are being targeted.

“We are continuing our robust approach in dealing with those who participate in phone scams, particularly when they target the vulnerable and elderly members of our community. Arrests are continuing to be made in connection with these types of scams, but people still need to be aware.”

He urged people to remember that the police and banks would never ask anyone on the phone to reveal their bank account details, withdraw cash, or hand over any possessions to a courier or stranger.

More advice can be found on Hertfordshire Constabulary’s website at www.herts.police.uk/phonescams