Good evening,

I've spent several hours this afternoon in Carbis Bay on foot patrol, speaking with local residents. I hope to be able to do more of this in other parts of Carbis Bay, Lelant and St Ives over the coming weeks and be able to introduce myself to more people in the area.

This evening I've spent several hours on foot patrol in St Ives, this included the Harbour and Wharf area, Fore Street, Porthmeor, Porthgwidden and the Harbour beach, as well as some time in more residential areas.

Some residents I've spoken to today have explained that they are concerned about telephone scams, as these scam calls can happen anywhere and they can be very convincing. I would like to take this opportunity to provide some advice around potential telephone scams, but to be clear, there has not been a recent surge in this type of scam. This is just preventative advice to try to stop people falling foul of this type of scam, and give people confidence in protecting themselves from fraud.

If you have family, friends or neighbours who could be vulnerable to this type of scam, please pass on this information to them.

Firstly, telephone scams can be very convincing. Although they often target the elderly, anyone can be a victim of these scams. Here are some things to look out for:

Unsolicited calls - If the call you have received was unexpected (for example you are not expecting a call from your bank), it is important to be extremely wary, this in itself is a warning sign it could be a scam.

Requests for personal information - Your bank, or any other company or agency you use, will never ask for your PIN number or passwords. If this information is asked for at any point, end the phone call immediately and do not provide them with this information. Also be aware that the 3 digit security code on the back of your bank card can be used to make online payments. Do not give this out to anyone who has called you on an unsolicited call.

Pressure to act quickly - A common theme with these scam calls is they will apply pressure to act quickly. They may say this is to stop money being taken from your account, or to ensure you gain the most amount of money. In reality they are applying pressure to try and force you into impulsive decisions, without asking others for advice.

Offers that seem too good to be true - Any offer that seems too good, whether that be a large refund, tax rebate, or inheritance, is often too good to be true. Scammers will use large amounts to make the offer seem either enticing or worrying.

Mentions of fines or arrest - Some scammers will threaten fines or being arrested by the Police if you fail to give them the information or money they want. Police will never use a threat of arrest to obtain information or money.

Being told not to speak to the bank, or being told what to say at the bank - This is a huge warning something is wrong. This is often told to the victim in order to prevent them from alerting the bank. Usually the reason given is that the bank is “corrupt” or “being investigated”. Any financial fraud investigations are carried out by trained investigators while bank accounts are frozen. You will never be asked by a genuine bank, Police officer or other financial investigator to move money between accounts. You will also never be told not to tell the bank about the phone call. Banks have specialist fraud advisors, it's important to speak to the bank staff if you are unsure.

If you are ever unsure about the validity of a call, don't take the risk. The best way to check if a call is valid is to end the call with the caller, then use a different phone to call the company or agency's phone number - listed on official documents or on their official website. Do not call numbers or visit websites they provide you with, as this will be part of the scam. The reason it's best to change to another phone, is that some scammers will keep the phone line open and pretend to be answering the call you've just tried to make.

Finally, no real company, bank, or government agency will ever ask for payment to be made in any form of gift cards or iTunes cards. This is a way scammers in other countries can get money transferred across quickly, which is hard to trace.

If you are ever the victim of a scam, you need to report this to Action Fraud - www.actionfraud.police.uk 

It's very important to make your bank aware as well, so they can stop any further fraud from taking place. If you're ever unsure about a transaction, your bank will be able to offer you advice and guidance.

I look forward to seeing more of you over the coming weeks, please stop me and say hello if you see me walking by.

Many thanks,

PC Jack Combellack

Carbis Bay NBM