Courier Fraud Alert

Over the last few days, Kent Police have received several reports of Courier Fraud, a police impersonation scam, across East and North Kent. It is highly likely the criminals may begin to target other areas of Kent, so please be alert!

The criminals claim to work for the Police or Bank and focusing on Hammersmith Police. However criminals can use any names and/or say they are calling from specific police stations.  

🚨If you receive a call similar to this, it is a SCAM!🚨

The criminal might be able to confirm some basic details about you such as your full name and address. They may claim there is an issue with your bank account, your bank card has been cloned, they have someone in custody and request your assistance with an ongoing investigation. 

The ultimate aim of this call is to convince you into withdrawing large sums of cash, purchasing gift cards or foreign currency or giving over your  bank card. The criminal will say an undercover officer will attend the address to collect the items or cash.

The criminal may also ask you to lie to the bank staff as they may ‘be in on it’ and tell you to lie about what the money is for. 

🚨 This is a SCAM!🚨

The Police will NEVER ask you for financial details, request you to withdraw cash or purchase gift cards, foreign currency or high value goods and police will NEVER ask you to lie. 

Protect yourself from fraud with the A B C of fraud: 

Never ASSUME – Never assume a caller is genuine. Criminals may know basic information about you.

Never BELIEVE – Never believe a caller is genuine – scammers can ‘spoof’ official telephone numbers, so the call display may show as an official number such as the police or banks telephone number, but it does not mean it is a genuine call.

Always CONFIRM – always confirm if the call is genuine – Ask the caller for their name and badge number. Tell the caller you will hang up and call back to confirm.  

To ensure the criminals are still not on the line, use an alternative phone  and call  police on 101 and ask if it was a genuine call. 
If you do not have another phone to hand, call a trusted friend or family member first, to ensure the line is cleared, or you can unplug the landline, wait for 10 minutes and then call police to confirm. 

🚨 If a courier arrives at your property ring 999.

☎️ If this has happened to you report it to Kent Police on 101. If you have provided financial information or made payment, contact your bank as soon as possible by calling 159.