POLICE are warning Droitwich residents to be on their guard against scam callers who attempt to con vulnerable people out of their money by claiming to be from the Ministry of Justice.
Several calls have been made to residents in the last two weeks and, luckily, the recipients have realised they have been scams and have not lost any of their cash. These scammers often claim they are from the police and the victim’s card has been used fraudulently and ask them to contact their bank while they remain on the line to hear their account details. They also ask them to transfer money to what they call a secure police bank account.
Those who pretend to be from the Ministry of Justice try to convince the victim they are overdue a large amount of money or have been mis-sold insurance and to get a cheque they would have to get a non existent ‘money guarantee form’ from the post office.
Although most potential victims have realised the calls are not legitimate, a few have conned out of significant amount of money.
Det Ch Insp Tim Bower said: “Fortunately the message is being shared and most people are realising that these are scams, but it is important that we keep warning people about they different ways in which the scammers are trying to dupe victims.
Please continue to warn any elderly or vulnerable friends or relatives about these scams and if you do receive a phone call like this, hang up and contact the police on 101 from a different phone.
“Remember, under no circumstances would the police or banks, ask for you PIN, send a courier to collect your card or ask you to transfer money to a secure account.”
