The amount of money lost to phone scammers has tripled across the UK in the last year, police have warned.
An estimated total of £23.9m has been tricked out of victims, up from £7m the previous year, according to Financial Fraud Action.
The group, which runs fraud prevention action for the financial services industry, said research suggested 58% of people had received suspect calls.
The main trick involves a con artist deceiving victims into believing they are calling from the police, a bank or a computer company.
They suggest that the individual has been the victim of fraud and ask for personal financial information to access their account.
Some ask victims to transfer money, to withdraw cash from a branch, or to hand over a bank card to a courier.
The news has prompted a major awareness campaign by Devon and Cornwall Police.
The force described the fraud as mainly targeting the elderly and vulnerable in our communities.
Operation Fardel is the Devon and Cornwall Police response to this crime type.
They ask any member of the public who have received a call from a fraudster that has attempted to deceive you or has indeed succeeded in deceiving you to contact 101 or Crimestoppers.The Police have released the following advice to tackl the crime:
How the fraud works
The potential victim gets a phone call. The fraudster pretends to be a police officer (says they are investigating a fraud on their bank account and have made an arrest) or they might claim to be from the victim's bank (they say they are investigating fraud relating to the account).
Action to take if you get a call:• Be suspicious. End the call.• NEVER give your PIN, security or bank details to anyone over the phone.
Remember:• WAIT at least five minutes before attempting to make another call to ensure you're not reconnected to the offender.• Use a different phone e.g. a mobile phone or a neighbour's phone. If that is not possible then phone a known friend that you will recognise to test the phone to confirm you aren't still unwittingly connected to the offender.• NEVER give your bank account details or PIN number over the phone.• NEVER withdraw money and send it to anyone via a courier, taxi or by any other means.• NEVER send your bank cards to anyone via courier, taxi or by any other means.• NEITHER the police nor your bank will EVER ask for this information.How can you help stop the crime?
Pass it on - share this information with your relatives and friends (older generation are more vulnerable and are targeted possibly due to the belief they have more available funds).
Report any calls you believe are suspicious (the non-emergency number is 101). It may be possible to trace where the calls are originating from and build the intelligence picture to apprehend and prosecute offenders. Don't forget - wait at least five minutes before calling police or use a different phone e.g. a mobile or neighbour's phone.
You wouldn't give your information to a stranger face-to-face, don't do it over the phone.
