Attempted Scam in Sherborne

This afternoon a Sherborne resident reported that they received a telephone call from a scammer claiming to be a Police Officer from the Met Police. 

The scammer claimed that he worked in the police fraud unit and that he had apprehended a criminal with a bag full of cloned bank cards from the Sherborne area. The scammer then asked the recipient of the call to write down his fictitious ‘badge details’ so they could call the Met Police and verify they were a genuine officer, (Criminals can keep telephone lines open after you have hung up and pretend to be an organisation you are trying to call when attempting to scam a victim).

When questioned by the recipient of the call the scammer hung up. The call came from an undisclosed telephone number. 

If the potential victim had continued to speak to the scammer, they would have proceeded to ask for the victim’s bank card details claiming they needed them to match up with the fictitious cloned bank card they claimed they had.

Remember:

If a caller claims to be a police officer and asks for money, bank details, or to transfer funds to a ‘safe account,’ hang up immediately. 

For more information visit the Government website Stop! Think Fraud