National: Victim loses thousands of pounds to bank fraudsters

Detectives are urging householders to trust their instincts following an incident on Friday involving tricksters claiming to be from Lloyds Bank Fraud Department.

Residents are being reminded that banks do not phone up to ask customers for personal or account details or to transfer cash.

Detective Sergeant Andy Dawson said: “Unfortunately, these scams are very elaborate and very cruel. These are very clever and very convincing criminals who pretend with confidence that they are from the police, your internet service provider, government and in this case, your bank.

“They are able to obtain your personal details and enough information, before calling you and without you realising, to convince you they are legitimate. They are not.

“No bank will call you and ask you to transfer money via your banking app or over the phone. No bank will ask for your personal details, bank details or family details in such a manner either.

“As with most criminals and especially fraudsters, these people are cowards and they target the vulnerable and the elderly, as in this case yesterday.

“Please let your family and friends know that this type of call, usually a cold call or from a phishing email or text, is a scam. Please tell them to hang up and call the police on 101 or report it immediately to Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.

Identities

“I would like to reassure the community in Telford and Shropshire and all communities across West Mercia that we are thoroughly investigating this and working hard to establish these criminal’s identities.

“If you or anyone you know has been a victim or thinks now that they may have been a victim of such a scam please tell them to call us as this will help our investigation and help us bring these individuals to justice.

“I would ask the public to talk to elderly relatives or neighbours and to tell them what to be aware of.”

Typical telephone bank fraud:

• Email or text received containing a link purporting to be a service provider, such as internet and mobile phone
• Victim clicks the link and goes through to a website, which appears legitimate
• Victim enters details onto web page as per the instructions. Fraudsters are able to see what is written on the page by using screen mirroring techniques
• Fraudsters conduct research on the victim from details already obtained, including email address, bank details which can be done on social media
• Calls are then made to the victim, questioning a suspicious transaction which has not happened and suggesting the account may be compromised
• Fraudster uses information given to build trust with the victim, this will be the information obtained during their research
• Fraudster then gives instructions for how to cancel the alleged fraudulent activity, when in fact, they are transferring the money to a different account, under the fraudsters control.