We are warning people to be aware of a scam where fraudsters pretend to be police officers.
We received a number of reports overnight from people in the Blackpool area saying they had been called by a man purporting to be a Detective Sgt Turner or Detective Sgt Farmer from New Scotland Yard who told the member of the public there had been fraudulent activity on their bank account.
The ‘police officer’ asked the members of the public to call 161. This number was answered by a woman also claiming to be a police officer.
Fortunately, none of the members of the public gave any personal or bank account details. They have been advised to contact Action Fraud to report the scam, which follows a similar pattern to frauds elsewhere in the country.
Detective Chief Inspector Jon Holmes, of Blackpool Police, said: “Luckily none of the members of the public contacted last night fell for this scam but it serves as a timely warning to others to be aware that there are people out there who will prey on others and who can come across as very professional. There are examples in other parts of the country where people have lost large amounts of money by falling foul of similar scams.”
If you think you have been a victim of fraud please contact police on 101 or Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.
For more information, help and advice on how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud please visit https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/