Police launch day of action over courier fraud (From Haringey Independent)

Haringey Police launch day of action over courier fraud

9:48am Wednesday 20th March 2013 in News By Bruce Thain

Elderly people are being warned of fraudsters using a courier ruse to swindle them out of their savings.

Haringey Police are joining a London-wide day of action about courier fraud, in which criminals call a victim, claiming to be from the police or the Serious Fraud Office, and tell them their bank account has been compromised.

They then tell the victim to call the police on a genuine number to clarify the claims, asking them to enter the pin into their phone pad. The fraudsters then say they will send round a courier or taxi driver to the victim's house to collect their bank card.

The criminals then use the pin and card to empty the person’s bank account.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Trevers of Haringey CID said: “Courier fraudsters take the time to be convincing because the pay-off can be huge, but we are working to catch them.

"We ask people to warn their elderly friends and relatives of this scam and most importantly to remember that police and banks will never ask for your PIN or bank card, so you should never give these to anyone."

From January 2011 and 31 December 2012 there were 53 cases courier fraud in Haringey with 70 being the average age of victims.