Courier Fraud

Good afternoon,

We have been made aware of continued attempts to scam members of our community where persons are cold calling residents, claiming to be a genuine police officer and try to convince the person they have called into passing over large sums of money to a courier.

Below is an example of how these calls are made and how to respond:

Victim receives a call via a withheld number and answers. The person on the line claims to be from Hammersmith Police investigating theft/cloning of a debit or credit card. Person on the line sounds genuine, informs the victim they are going to hang up and asks the victim to dial 999 after they hear the tone to discuss this further. End the call yourself and either call 101 or 999 on a different mobile/landline or wait 5 minutes and call 101 or 999 in an emergency.

The scammer is trying to convince you that you have called the genuine 999 emergency line. This is not the case, the caller did not end the call and you are still on the line with a scammer. They will then try to convince you to withdraw cash, where a courier will attend and collect the cash on the caller's behalf. Other cases may also include bank transfers.

Never hand over any money, or other items, to a courier after receiving this type of call. Police or police staff will never ask you to hand over or draw out any money. If you are not confident that the person who has called you is genuine, we encourage you to ask for their details, end the call and contact 101 to confirm their identity as a police officer.

Anybody with information relating to these incidents is urged to call 101 or 999 in an emergency and report these incidents. 

You can also contact Action Fraud on 03001232040 or report suspicious activity online by visiting their website.

Kind regards,

Canterbury CSU,

Kent Police