call at 10am from a man purporting to be a police officer.
The offender said he was “Detective Sergeant Hunter RS7V6” he told the lady
that she was a victim of a fraud, where someone had used her card details to
purchase goods from Argos to the value of £410.11 which are to be delivered to
an address in Manchester.
The offender said that the police were waiting outside of the address in
Manchester and that they needed her help. They then asked her to hang up the
phone and call back on 161 to verify that he was a ‘real’ police officer.
The victim phoned 161 and spoke with another fake officer “PC Lucy Thompson
ET1901” who told the lady that she was very lucky because “DS Hunter” was a
head of fraud squad for Lloyds. She provided the victim with a reference number
and transferred her back to the ‘DS’, who informed her that there is currently
a scam in Oxford.
The DS asked her to take out a large amount of money in Euros from her local
post office and get a taxi into Oxford. She was also told not to tell anyone
what she was doing as she was helping the ‘police’ with their investigation.
The victim did as she was asked, the fraudsters kept calling her on her mobile
and told her to meet a courier at Oxford Railway Station. They agreed on a
password which only she and the courier would know, they met at the station and
the lady handed over the cash.
The lady was then called and asked again to help the police with another
investigation. She was told to go to the Westgate Centre and buy a watch. She
was then met by a courier at Dominos Pizza in Frideswide Square and gave the
watch to the courier.
The offender is described as a black male in his twenties, 5’8 tall and of slim
build. He is describe as wearing a baseball cap and a black rucksack.
If you have any information about this incident please contact the 24-hour
Police Enquiry Centre on 101 ref – 43180135788
In an Emergency call the Police on 999.
Scams are constantly changing and becoming ever more complex so it is harder to
spot them.
The fraudsters are VERY convincing requesting your assistance to help catch a
thief.
The Police or the Banks would NEVER call you on the phone and ask you to help
them with an investigation.
The Police or the Banks would NEVER ask you to meet them at a location and hand
over money or anything valuable.
For more advice about how to protect yourself against fraud and identity theft
from Thames Valley Police please click on the link –
https://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/documents/1137/the-little-book-of-big-scams.pdf