Warning over 'evil' fraudsters posing as police

People have been warned that fraudsters are posing as police officers persuading people they call to hand over their bank details.

Gloucestershire Constabulary said it had been contacted by other police forces across the country who have received calls about bogus officers claiming to be based at Hester's Way Police Station in Cheltenham.

The criminals have been using technology to imitate the station's phone number and made calls to people across the country.

Detective Inspector Marcus McInerney, head of Economic and Cyber Crime, said the "manipulative" fraudsters would "gladly see you spend your life savings, remortgage your house, take everything and leave you ruined".

"They call people with a variety of stories, [including] a man in custody with your passport and then look for further details, things like your passport number and working towards more sensitive banking details," McInerney added.

"They will tell you to never tell your friends or family or your bank that you are helping with an investigation.

"Nobody from the police will call you and ask you for your bank details, your passwords, your PIN numbers.

"They will never ask you to hand over funds or transfer funds in any circumstances and they won't be threatening you that you're potentially committing a crime by not complying with such an instruction."

Scam and fraud expert, Professor Keith Brown, said the fraudsters were "quite evil" and they had "no bones about taking every single last penny from anybody".

"Because of all the data breaches that have gone on in the past, criminal gangs have your name and probably your phone number, maybe even your address. So they can contact you and sound legitimate," he said.

"If you ever get a phone call like this from someone pretending to be a police officer or a bank official, it's clearly a fraud.

"As soon as they ask you for personal details or for money to be transferred, it's a fraud, it's a scam, hang up."

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