HAMPSHIRE police have issued a warning to residents after an increase in scam and fraud incidents.

The Hampshire police force shared the news on social media asking residents to remain “vigilant”.

A spokesperson on Basingstoke Cops Facebook page, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to warn local residents to remain vigilant after a recent increase in scam/fraud type incidents.The main types being courier fraud and romance scams.”

Police said that in one in incident the money lost to fraudsters was a whopping excess of £60k.

Courier fraud usually involves an unexpected call from someone saying they are either a police officer, someone from their local bank, someone from an internet/phone provider or someone from Amazon Prime. They tell the victim their account has been subject to fraudulent activity and request they assist in the investigation.

This usually involves the following:

  • Being asked about financial accounts and bank cards
  • Being sent to the bank to withdraw money sometimes by taxi
  • Being asked to buy high value goods 

Hampshire police have issued some advice on how to avoide such scams including reminding residents the bank or police will never call to ask for personal details, if you need to call them back to check, wait five minutes before making the call. Fraudsters may stay on the line after someone hangs up, if unsure whether the person you’re dealing with is genuine call 101 to check.

The other type of scam is known as a Romance scam.

A spokesman added: “These usually involved people being tricked into sending money to criminals who go to great lengths to gain their trust and convince them they are in a genuine relationship. They try to manipulate, persuade and exploit you so that requests for money do not raise any alarm bells.

“We know these types of incidents as well as other types of fraud/scams can have a significant impact on victims both financially and emotionally. They find it hard to comes to terms that they have fallen for a scam and usually lost large sums of money or their life savings.

“If you think you’ve been targeted by a scam or fallen victim to fraudsters, either report it to us online or by calling 101 or report it direct to Action Fraud.”

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