Impersonation scams / courier fraud information from Devon and Cornwall Police

Message from Devon & Cornwall Police about impersonation scams and courier fraud

We ask for residents to continue to be vigilant of the scam in which residents are contacted by unexpected telephone calls from bogus callers claiming to be a police officer, bank or fraud department, as we have received a number of recent reports in Devon & Cornwall.

The fraudster may be able to confirm some basic details such as name and address and creates a sense of urgency and fear and tells the victim that their account has been subject to fraudulent activity, or similar, and will apply pressure to convince the victim to hand over their bank details, bank cards or withdraw cash, which may be then collected by a person/courier or asked to send the items to an address. 

Any police, bank or fraud department will never ask for your PIN or to transfer or withdraw money - If you receive a call like this it is a scam, please hang up and do not give any information.

If you need to contact your bank please wait at least 5-10 minutes for the line to clear before making a call, or clear the line by phoning a friend/family member, or make the call on a different phone to the one you were contacted on. If you have already given your bank details over the phone or handed your card details to a courier, call your bank straight away - phone 159 to reach your bank's fraud department directly.

Please then also report to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040 and contact Devon & Cornwall Police on 101 or via the website.

Please pass this information on and consider displaying this information on noticeboards etc.

Thank you.