Police have issued a warning after two elderly people in Derbyshire were scammed out of thousands of pounds by scammers posing as officers.

Derbyshire Constabulary said the scams take the form of a cold call.

During the calls, the fake officers ask people to give money to couriers as part of an investigation.

Tammy Barnes, fraud protection officer, said: “These callers pretend to be investigating a crime involving the victims’ card or bank account.

“They then ask for money transfers, or even cash withdrawals or bank cards to be given to a courier, to ‘assist with the investigation’ which the police will never do.”

During the calls, the scammers give a fake name and the one they give could potentially be one of the following:

• DI Cameron
• DS Cooper
• DC Matthew Phillips
• PC Smith

Derbyshire Constabulary shared more information about other potential warning signs.

It said: “Another warning sign is that the fake officer says not to share any details of the call with anyone as it risks jeopardising the police investigation. This is to apply pressure to the victim to comply and not ask for help.

“It’s also important to note on previous occasions the caller has asked the victim to call 999 to verify their claims but instead remains on the line to complete the scame.

“The police will never contact you to request banking information or ask for fund to aid an investigation. If you receive a call like this – hang up and contact us to report it as soon as possible. We can then assess where it is targeted, alert banks and prevent other scams.”

Picture credit – Gerd Altmann from Pixabay