Courier fraud: Elderly man swindled out of £7,450 on Christmas Eve

Fraud Protection Officer Charlotte Platts said: “Unfortunately we have received several reports of this scam in South Yorkshire over the festive period.

“This scam can not only result in the loss of significant amounts of money, but can also have a real impact on the victim’s health and well-being.”

Police said the scam usually involved victims receiving a phone call from a criminal pretending to be from the police or another official organization such as a bank.

The fraudster then claims that there is a problem with the victim’s bank account or requests the victim’s help in an ongoing bank or police investigation.

Victims are then asked to withdraw a large sum of money which will be collected by a courier for ‘evidence’.

The force has issued the following advice on how to spot scams:

If you get a call and need to call the bank back to verify, wait five minutes. Find a number for the bank you know and trust on the back of your card. or from an extract. Scammers are known to stay on the line after you hang up, so when you call the bank back, you’re connected back to the scammers.

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