I was talking to a friend the other day and he revealed that his elderly parents had been targetted in the so-called police scam.
We’ve had this. If you don’t know, someone rings at random, identifies himself as officer (eg) Jonathan Brown at (eg) Highgate Police Station, and there was some problem with your cards/bank accounts/finances, something, and they need more details and so on.
Of course, your initial reaction is to panic. Don’t.
As we have said before, assume anyone ringing is a scammer until they prove otherwise. A voice on a phone saying they are police is not proof.
Don’t give out any information. A good tactic is to say you need to check something (eg your bank account) and you will ring back and what’s the number. They won’t give you a number, and the police station does not exist.
Ring off. Do check your accounts. Then ring 101 and report it.
Then, have a nice day.
We’ve had several of another call recently. In a thick Indian accent: “Hello, this is Jonathan Brown from The Microsoft, how are you today? I am calling about your compuder”
There are so many things wrong, from the number they are calling from, what they say, how they say it, even the fact that Microsoft would never call you. They don’t even know your name. Just hang up.