West Mercia Police & Herefordshire Council have advised that, unfortunately there is another spike in fraud offences where the elderly are being targeted with several incidents reported in the last few days.

Please take note of the points below and ensure that your elderly friends, family or neighbours know what to be wary of.

• A police officer will never call you and ask you to go to your bank and withdraw money.
• Fraudsters pretending to police officers are calling on the phone to get you to give them money. Don’t. Hang up, wait 10 minutes and call 101 and report it
• Banks, HMRC and police will never phone you and ask you to hand over cash and will never come to the house to collect it
• If someone comes to your door pretending to be a police officer remember that they always carry a warrant card. Ask them for it. Genuine callers will understand
• Trust your instincts: apply the same logic you would in the real world if a stranger with an unusual story asked for your money or your private information
• Scam Alert! Telephone fraudsters are calling homes in our area. Never agree to go to your bank and hand over money to a courier. Hang up, wait 10 minutes and call the police on 101
• Scam Alert! Fraudsters pretending to police officers are telephoning the elderly and vulnerable to get them to hand over cash. Please tell your friends and family to be aware of this scam.
• Scam Alert! Please tell elderly and vulnerable friends, neighbours and family who may not have social media or have seen the news that fraudsters are telephoning in this area. They are pretending to be the police and have the withdraw money from their account and give to a courier who will come to their home. This is a scam! No police officer will ever do this so please tell them to hang up, wait 10 minutes and call the police on 101 or tell a family member so they can call us