Hello Resident

I wanted to make you aware of recent activities in the local area. I have been made aware that members of YOUR community are receiving calls from scam artists. Luckily they realised this was a scam and no money or personal details were transferred, however we have agreed that I would share details to make you more aware of the current situation to improve your chances of spotting it. 

An incident occurred recently whereby a member of public received a phone call from someone posing to be a Police Officer. They mentioned they were from Hampshire police and stated that they worked within Mottisfont court (The Winchester Police Station). They explained that their card had been used fraudulently within Harestock shops and they wanted to confirm the card details. 

They went onto to attempt to confirm their identity be requested the member of public to call back on 999 and ask for their details. When the member of public stated that he would call back on a different phone the scammer hung up and never called back. 

This is a well-known scam that gets you to believe who they are be getting you to call back, however the phone call goes to their system as you call back on the same phone, allowing them to control the narrative. 

We advise that if you are ever asked to confirm someone identity, you use a different phone to call the number, and ensure the number is a genuine number by finding it online or through other correct methods. 

This incident is worrying as the scam artist are using the location to name places close to you to make you believe it’s a real incident. 

The idea of the scam is that they will encourage you to give your card details over, and then use these details to make charges to your bank account. 

Please be aware of these incidents. If you have any doubt hang up and call the company on a genuine number from a different phone. All genuine company will have logs of calls and be able to confirm there are issues. 

I have attached a PDF document which outlines common scams, please feel free to share this story and publish it in local newsletter to raise awareness for other. 

Alternatively please click the link below which will take you to the Hampshire Constabulary website and give advice around fraud and scams. 

Advice about fraud | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary

If you have any question please feel free to reply to me directly, alternatively please use the rating buttons below if you find this message useful. 

Regards

PC Tom Harries

Winchester North Designated Beat Officer.