Residents warned over banking scam

19 Aug 2019 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news

Residents are being urged to be on their guard over Visa/Bank activity scams.

The County Council’s Housing and Public Protection Service team recently received information about telephone calls to residents where the caller claims that suspicious activity has been noted on the resident’s Visa/bank account.  

This is usually in the form of a pre- recorded message. The claimed transactions are invariably bogus and the purpose of the call is to obtain account details after which, funds will be stolen.

Councillor John Riddle, Cabinet Member for Planning, Housing and Resilience said: “It’s sad that there are people out there who devote so much time and effort to ruining the lives of  other people. It does mean that everyone has to be careful. People have to be wary when they receive calls from an unknown or unexpected source because, all too often, these are part of a scam."

Philip Soderquest, Head of Housing and Public Protection, added: “We would urge residents to be vigilant. Unfortunately scammers can be very persuasive and can con people into believing that they are legitimate so always remember to be on your guard when passing on your details to a third party.”

Top tips to reduce the risks of falling for telephone scams include:

• Be wary of unsolicited callers suggesting or implying that you are due a refund or other money.
• Never provide your personal or bank or credit card details.
• Don’t take unsolicited calls when you are busy and can’t give the salesman your full attention – if you want to talk, ask them to call back at a convenient time.
• Don’t agree to something on the phone just to get rid of a persistent caller.
• If you’re not clear about who you are speaking to, terminate the call.

Anyone who gets one of these calls and would like further advice can contact Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0345 404 0506, or report any potential fraud to ‘Action Fraud’ at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/  or by calling 0300 123 2040. 

Useful advice for consumers and businesses is available on the Take Five - To Stop Fraud website at https://takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/