Good afternoon,

Regular readers of previous alerts will remember we’ve encouraged you to screen your calls, and advised you that we, police, will not ask you to withdraw money, buy gold, jewellery or other high value items to “help us with an investigation” or “help us to catch someone committing fraud at the bank/shop etc”.

Despite that, we are receiving an increasingly high volume of reports from people responding to communications from criminals purporting to be police.  Members of the public are complying with the suspects wishes and buying those high value items and handing them over to people involved in organised crime.

Police may well put out an appeal on social media with CCTV stills asking you to identify someone, or ask you if anyone witnessed an incident, or we may ask you if you will write a statement and go to court to say what has happened. Police do not however, phone, message, text, or write to members of the public and ask them to help us catch suspects by getting involved in a an “undercover operation”.  This will not happen under any circumstance.   

Please DO NOT engage with someone telling you they are from the police, bank or HMRC asking you to help by withdrawing cash or buying gold, jewellery or other high value items.  If you are contacted by someone purporting to be a police officer or some other official, put the phone down, wait at least 5 minutes (or use a different phone) and phone 101 to check if the caller is legitimate.  There may be a delay in answering 101 calls, this is because the call takers are answering 999 calls – but while you are waiting to speak to us, you are not being scammed out of your personal cash or valuables.  

Please share this important message with your friends, family and colleagues.

If you've been affected by a crime please contact Victim Care Hub for free, confidential support: Home - Hampshire Victim Care Hub (hampshireiowvictimcare.co.uk) or phone 0808 178 1641

If you would like to report a crime anonymously please contact: Independent UK charity taking crime information anonymously | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org) or phone 0800 555 111

Hampshire Alerts is not a crime reporting portal – please do not report crime here.

If you realise you’ve been scammed and wish to report a fraud that has already happened, please report it to Action Fraud either phone 0300 123 2040 or online at: Action Fraud

If a crime is in progress, and/or you are in fear for yourself or someone else, and/or there is evidence in situ that could be damaged/destroyed, please phone 999 immediately. 

Otherwise, report online, or find out about other ways to report a crime at: Report a crime | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary

Thank you – Fraud Safeguarding Team