Nottinghamshire Police is warning members of the public to watch out for a rise in phone call scams after two vulnerable victims lost more than £18,000.
A woman in her 60s handed over thousands of pounds in cash to fraudsters, and another report saw a lady in her 70s lose £11,500 after a man purported to be a police officer.
The first victim received a call on January 24 from the fraudster who claimed he was working for the Metropolitan Police force.
The man requested her to withdraw large amounts of cash as part of a covert police operation and said she would get the money back.
After being told she could be arrested if she did not co-operate, the vulnerable woman was talked into withdrawing almost £7,000 in cash from a bank. She was told the bank was under investigation and that officers needed her to withdraw the money as part of a covert evidence-gathering exercise.
During the same week, the second victim also received a call saying she was part of a covert police operation and was persuaded to buy a £11,500 Rolex watch, which was later collected from her doorstep.
In both incidents the fraudster used the same police officer’s name and same phrasing, to convince the both victims to co-operate.
Fiona Price, a fraud and cyber protection officer at Nottinghamshire Police, said both victims were being supported by specialist officers having…
