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News  »  Help protect yourself and your neighbours against telephone scams



   Help protect yourself and your neighbours against telephone scams     13 January, 2015

There has been an increase in the reporting of telephone scams in the last month, particularly the type of calls in which the caller impersonates either a police officer, or a fraud officer or bank employee, and then either tries to get bank account details off the resident or suggests that they will send someone round to collect their bank cards and any valuable items to ‘keep them safe’.

Please be wary of telephone calls warning you of fraudulent activity on your bank account.

  • Genuine banks, businesses or organisations will never telephone you and ask you to give out personal or financial details.
  • A fraudulent caller may ask you to hang up and call your bank or police to prove they are genuine. However, they don’t hang up themselves, tricking you into thinking you are through to the genuine officer. To protect yourself, make sure you hear a dialling tone before you make your next call, or phone a friend to check your call goes through to them correctly, and then call the number on the back of your bank card.
  • Ask your telecoms provider to set up caller ID on your telephone so that you know who is calling your number before you decide to answer it.
  • Register with the free Telephone Preference Service to reduce the number of unsolicited sales and marketing calls.  You can register on 0845 070 0707 or online
  • Be cautious and, if in doubt, hang up.

To report a scam, contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 03454 04 05 06 and Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or visit www.actionfraud.police.uk

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