Dear all,

Please see below March’s edition of the Surrey and Sussex Police Fraud Newsletter.

 "Each month we see many incidents of fraudsters targeting our residents in an attempt to defraud them. We’re working hard to prevent this and support vulnerable victims of fraud or scams. By following our tips and encouraging family, friends and colleagues to do so too, you can reduce the risk of becoming a victim."

T/Detective Chief Inspector Anthony Leadbeatter, Surrey Police & Sussex Police Economic Crime Unit

Motor Fraud

There have been an increase in recent reports to Sussex Police and Surrey Police about scams involving selling high end cars. Cars are advertised online via sites such as Facebook Marketplace or Autotrader.

The scammers then get in contact to view the car, generally stating that they will be making a long journey to do so. They usually arrive in groups of three people. When the car is taken for a test drive, they comment that there is a funny noise and whilst one person distracts the owner, the car is sabotaged with things such as used oil in the coolant or water, causing a warning light to come on. The scammers advise that they will still have the car but for a much lower price.

One Surrey victim was selling their car, a Silver Mercedes for £3600. The Scammers sabotaged the car and then bought it as 'scrap' for £1000.  The victim only realised what had happened after speaking to a friend.

Top tips:
 

Holiday Fraud

Don't lose out before flying out!

Sussex Police and Surrey Police are urging residents to be wary of ticketing and holiday fraud as the summer season approaches and fraudsters are waiting to prey on those booking flights and accommodation.  With prices rising and finances being tightened everyone is understandably shopping around for the best deals.

In a recent case in East Sussex an elderly gentleman was conned out of £2500 for flights to Canada that didn’t exist.  Whilst online searching for flights he was telephoned by a fraudster posing as a travel company who emailed him tickets for flights, that after having checked with the airline were not in fact genuine.  

Top tips:
 

BT > Courier fraud:

Across both force areas we continue to see the number of reports of courier fraud increase.  A recent deviation in MO has seen would-be victims receiving an initial call from a BT impersonator followed almost immediately by the traditional police impersonator scam as detailed in this example:

An 82-year-old lady from West Sussex received a telephone call from a female claiming to be from BT stating that they will be turning her landline off within the next half hour due to her being involved in a criminal investigation. She called them back on the number they gave her, and they then told her it was the police and that they had a male in custody and they had been told the victim was laundering money and dealing drugs to the male.   She was advised by the scam caller that she would need to travel to London to meet the officer outside the MET police station.  Thankfully on this occasion no money was lost and no banking details divulged to the fraudsters.  Considerable losses have been reported to this emerging MO and we continue to work closely with the banks across Sussex and Surrey to identify when one of these frauds is taking place, alert police and refuse the transaction under the Banking Protocol. 

REMEMBER:

POLICE WILL NEVER ASK YOU TO WITHDRAW OR TRANSFER MONEY OR PURCAHSE GOLD ON THEIR BEHALF

DO NOT SHARE YOUR PIN WITH ANYONE

IF YOU RECEIVE A PHONE CALL YOU ARE NOT EXPECTING – STOP, THINK FRAUD!