Scam text messages

Good Morning Resident,

We have received information that people have had text messages from persons reporting to be family members,the text normally say ‘Mum/Dad this is my new number,my last phone has been damaged and I had to get a new one ‘

After this the person reporting to be the family member will send further texts asking for money to be sent to pay for the phone or to get them home from a different country as they have been involved in an accident and have to get home quickly .

This is a scam and please don’t fall foul of this type of incident,please be vigilant and if possible try a different number for the reported family member (landline) or if they have a partner or other siblings ,please contact them to try and clarify if the number for the person has been changed .If you are in any doubt please forward the message to 7726 (this spells SPAM on a phone keypad ) and then delete the message and do not respond to  the original text message 

Kind Regards 

Darwen Neighbourhood Policing Team