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Dear Resident Beware a spike in recent scam calls like the one below… “I received a phone call from a man who asked my name and address. He said he was DC John Wiggins from Hammersmith Police Station and gave the collar number: LEB 1244. He said not to be alarmed and that nobody was in danger, but he needed my help. He asked me if I knew anyone by the name of Campbell.
“He went on to say two individuals had gone into an Apple store in there area just an hour ago and tried to purchase five iPhone 18 devices. The shop assistant noticed something wasn’t right about the card they tried to use and called the police.
“Officers arrived and arrested the men on suspicion of fraud and discovered they had bank cards and details of numerous people from the Cambridge area, including myself.
“The supposed officer then asked me to check if I had my bank cards with me and asked who I Iived with.
“He continued to ask more about my bank cards, how many I had and some of the details. It was at this point I told him I wasn’t comfortable discussing this information with him and would call the police direct to verify these details.
“He abruptly hung up the phone.
"Needless to say, the police had no officer of that name and no ongoing investigation of this nature.”
Thankfully, this man was alert to this scam and didn’t lose any money, not everybody is so lucky.
Fraudsters often target vulnerable people, and we’re seeing an increasing number of calls from scammers purporting to be the police, requesting assistance with an ongoing investigation.
Remember, we will never ask you for your bank cards or the details of them. If in doubt, hang up, wait a while and call us direct on 101 to confirm if a person or investigation is legit.
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