bulletin from Suffolk Trading Standards
Two Suffolk residents came very close to losing all their money, to scammers who called purporting to be from their Bank.
The elderly couple received a call from the “fraud squad” of their bank, claiming that £400 had been been taken from their account, and that 2 individuals had been arrested.
The couple were advised that a new account had been created for them, and that they should visit their local branch, and transfer all their funds to that new account.
They received a further call a short time later from an individual claiming to be the bank manager who advised that the money had not been transferred, and their account was unsafe. The scammer advised that the money needed to be moved immediately and attempted to do this by taking details over the phone.
Thankfully, the granddaughter of the couple arrived at the property and realised what was happening. She was able to terminate the call and no money was transferred.
Protect yourself
- Your bank or the police will never call you to ask you to verify your personal details or PIN by phone or offer to pick up your card by courier. Hang up if you get a call like this.
- If you need to call your bank back to check, wait five minutes; fraudsters may stay on the line after you hang up. Alternatively, use a different line altogether to call your bank.
- Your debit or credit card is yours – don’t let a stranger take it off you. You should only ever have to hand it over at your bank. If it’s cancelled, you should destroy it yourself.
Spot the signs
- Someone claiming to be from your bank or local police force calls you to tell you about fraudulent activity but is asking you for personal information or even your PIN to verify who you are.
- They’re offering you to call back so you can be sure they’re genuine, but when you try to return the call there’s no dial tone.
- They try to offer you peace of mind by having somebody pick up the card for you to save you the trouble of having to go to your bank or local police station.